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Very Rev. Canon Triest 



GLIMPSES 



OF THE 



Brotherhood of Charity 



BY 



THOMAS A. DWYER, B. A. 



WITH A PREFACE BY 

REV. J. NILAN, D. D. 
OF ST. Peter's church, poughkeepsie, n. y. 






Boston, Mass. ^ • 

Press of The House of the Angel Guardian 

1S93. 



^ 







Copyright, iSqy ; 
By the Brothers of Charity of the House of the Angel Guardian, 

Boston^ Mass. 



TO THE EVER IMMACULATE VIRGIN MAR\\ 

QUEEN OF HEAVEN 

AND MOTHER OF 

THE ORPHAN AND THE FRIENDLESS, 

THIS BOOK IS LOVINGLY 

DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR. 







i 


i 


^ 




^^^ 


■ 







CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 



PAttV 



Introduction — Christ's Life a Life of Charity — He Draws 
Disciples to Him by Divine Love — The Great Napo- 
leon's Tribute to the Charity of Christ— The Life of 
The Brothers of Charity Based on the Example of 
Christ. - 17-33 

CHAPTER n. 

Origin of the Congregation of The Brothers of Charity — 
A Short Sketch of Their Founder— Death of Father 
Bernard De Noter, the First Superior. - - - 33-40 



CHAPTER ni. 

Brother Gregory Elected Superior General — The Founding 
of New Houses — Brother Gregory Resigns — Election 
of Brother Nicholas — The Advancement of the Con- 
gregation — Death of Brother Nicholas — Election of 
Brother Amedeus, the Present Superior General of the 
Congregation. 41-60 



Vlll. CONTENTS 

CHAPTER IV. 

FAQS 

Work of The Brothers of Charity in the House of The 
Angel Guardian — Father Haskins — Brother Justin- 
ian. 61-85 

CHAPTER V. 

Rt. Rev. J. B. Fitzpatrick, First President of Truitees of 
the House of The Angel Guardian — Most Rev. J. J. 
Williams, Second President — Rev. M. P. Dougherty, 
First Secretary of the House of The Angel Guar- 
dian. --------- 86-104 

CHAPTER VI. 

Election of Brother Hilduward to the Office of Provincial — 
Continuation of the History of the House of The 
Angel Guardian — Election of Brother Wenceslaus — 
He is Transferred to Waterford, Ireland — Election of 
Brother Eusebius — Death of Brother Eusebius. - 105-122 

CHAPTER VII. 

Election of Brother Jude, Present Superior — The Rapid 
Advancement of the House of The Angel Guardian — 
The Amount of Good Being Done in the Cause of 
Orphanage. -------- 123-13 1 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The Novitiate — The Interior Life of the Brothers of 

Charity. - - 132-140 

Appendix - - - - - - -- 141-144 



PREFACE, 



** The glory of Him who moves everything penetrates- 
through the universe, and shines in one part more and another 
less.*' — Dante. Paradise, i. 



In human conduct, this same glory of the first source- 
of all activity shines with varied lustre in the different 
degrees of intellectual or spiritual work in which we 
are engaged. The active life appears to be the perfect 
condition in the present state of society. The value of 
the contemplative life must be measured by its actual 
fruits of beneficence. A life of mere contemplation is 
an impossibility. 

The Brothers of Charity make it a necessary part of 
their striving after Christian perfection to perform the 
duties of the several offices in which they are employed. 
Beginning with the Brother Porter, who guards the 
door of the institution, the twelve different grades into- 



X. PREFACE 

which the members of the Congregation are ordained, 
afford ample opportunity for attaining the perfect 
Christian life, which every follower of Our Lord ought 
to seek. Perfect conformity to grace brings to each 
that perfection of which he is capable. 

With the great and steady increase of wealth, there 
ought to be a proportionate growth of earthly comfort 
and social happiness. For a small number in the 
community, there is, undoubtedly, a larger share of 
worldly happiness than in former times. Those under 
the care of the Brothers of Charity are of the great 
multitude whose chances of enjoying the pleasures of 
life seem lessened by the wonderful increase of general 
prosperity. Hence, the work of education for advance- 
ment in life is of the gravest necessity. The practical 
training received in their institutions, imparting tech- 
nical skill to meet the mechanical and artisan require- 
ments, is an essential part of Christian instruction. 
The design of the Creator is evident in the progressive 
improvement of material nature, as well as in the 
advancement of the intellectual and moral order. One 
springs from the same creative act, as truly as the other ; 
the development of each is of relative necessity, to iihis- 
trate the divine order in the complex system of creation. 



PREFACE XI. 

In this respect, and in accord with the mission of the 
founder of Christianity, the work of the Brothers, to 
lift up the lowly, ought to inspire others with a like 
ambition. They serve the Master by saving His chosen 
ones, — the poor. Such service is that by which He 
commissioned His church to rule mankind. It was the 
sway gained by love of men. It triumphed, for it was 
divine. When failure succeeded, it was because human 
selfishness usurped the throne of divine love. Return- 
ing to the first supreme order of perfect law, society 
will find its regeneration ; the Church will regain its lost 
supremacy ; the human race will be the church, as its 
divine founder intended at its establishment.- 

Congregations, such as the Brothers of Charity, actu- 
ate the reign of Christ in the individual soul by exempli- 
fying her perfect philanthropy. Where this is wanting, a 
moral and spiritual death ensues ; the mere husk of the 
sacred fruit is often visible, and the false thus takes 
place of the true in the religious, as in the material 
order. A blind zeal can never aid any good cause ; 
least of all the Christian cause. Hence the Brothers 
combine intellectual progress with artisan thrift. 

Rev. J. NiLAN, D. D. 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 



How far that little candle throws its beams ! So shines a 
good deed in a naughty world. — Shakespeare. 

His daily prayer, far better understood 

In acts than words, was simply doing good. 

— John Greenleaf Whittier, 

To feel for and do much for others, and far less, or but little 
for ourselves, is the highest wisdom, fruitful of the greatest, 
most unalloyed happiness, and constitutes the best there is in 
human nature. — Sir Philip Sydney. 



The men and women who unite in Brotherhoods 
and Sisterhoods, that they may the more honor 
Christ in devoting themselves unreservedly to the 
charity which He so nobly illustrated in every act 
of His life, are worthy of all praise, and of our 
most fervent prayers, and unstinted respect and 
love. And this duty has impelled me to write the 



author's preface xiii. 

book I now present to the public, setting forth the 
faithfulness to the dear Savior, of the noble Con- 
gregation of the Brothers of Charity. 

The sole aim of the Brothers is to do good, and 
realize in the manner of their life and work, 
something of that love which brought to the 
ignominy of the Cross the Messiah, and gave to 
mankind freedom from the curse and bondage of 
the law of Sinai. Their trinity of vows, — 
Poverty, Chastity, Obedience, — leaves no chance 
for any other interests than those of a purely 
Christian life, to get their attention. The mem- 
bers of this Brotherhood have set themselves apart 
from the vanities and selfish pursuits of life, living 
wholly as Christ lived, namely, for the good of 
others. Their self-forgetfulness has scarcely any 
limit, and no sacrifice of personal comfort and 
pleasure is at any time too great for them to make 
in behalf of the good work they are ceaselessly 
engaged in doing. Of such a community of sin- 
cere Christian men, who can say too much, yea^ 
too much^ in their honor? And how voluminous 
soever might be a book recording the great benefit 



xiv. author's PRKI'ACE 



they confer on society, by their fidelity to their 
vows, which enables them the more deeply to 
impress their wholesome spiritual influence on all 
to whom they go, or who come to them, — such a 
book would be only a well deserved and fitting 
tribute to their sublime sense of Christian duty 
and love of their fellow creatures and the Cath- 
olic Church. Though I present no such a book at 
this present writing, I have been as voluminous as 
pressing cares and drafts upon my time would 
allow, hoping it may be possible for me at some 
point in the future to give the full attention to this 
noble and worthy Congregation of men, and 
their exalted virtues and wonderful achievements 
as heroes of the Church in the field of boundless 
charity, which they so pre-eminently merit. Who 
can properly estimate the vast importance of the 
service of such unselfish communities of Chris- 
tians to the generations of human beings needing 
their care, which follow one another down through 
the ages? It is simply incalculable, and there is 
no adequate compensation for such service, and 
utter self-forgetfulness, but the love of Christ and 



author's preface XV. 



His Church, and the certainty of His recognition 
of all the good work done in His name and to His 
glory, in the day when He shall come to reward 
all who have followed Him, through every self- 
surrender, in righteousness and truth. 

The writer begs leave to call the kind reader's 
attention to the fact that this little w^ork is a labor 
of love. A desire to express his admiration for 
the noble Congregation of the Brothers of Char- 
ity, a tender love for the scenes amid which he has 
spent many happy days, and an earnest wish to 
attraiil: more laborers into this portion of the Lord's 
vineyard have been the motives prompting this 
pleasing task. 

How few, like thee, enquire the wretched out, 
And court the offices of soft humanity; 
Like thee, reserve their raiment for the naked, 
Reach out their bread to feed the crying orphan, 
Or mix the pitying tears with those that weep ! 
***** Think not the good, 
The gentle deeds of mercy thou hast done. 
Shall die forgotten all; the poor, the prisoner. 
The fatherless, the friendless, and the widow. 
Who daily own the bounty of thy hand. 
Shall cry to heaven for blessings on thee ! 

— Jane Shore. 




Gin OF THE BmERmD OF OiRlir. 



CHAPTER I. 

Introduction. — Christ's Life a Life of Charity — He 
Draws Disciples to Him by Divine Love — The 
Great Napoleon's Tribute to the Charity of 
Christ — The Life of the Brothers of Charity 
Based on the Example of Christ. 



"You have heard that it hath been said: ^Thou 
shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thy enemy.' 
But I say to you : ^ Love your enemies, do good 
to them that hate you, and pray for them that 
persecute and calumniate you, that you may be 
the children of your Father, who is in Heaven; 
w^ho maketh His sun to rise upon the good and 
bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust. For, 



1 8 GLIMPSES OF THE 

if you love them that love you, what reward shall 
you have? Do not even the publicans this? Be 
you, therefore, perfect, as also your heavenly 
Father is perfect." — Matt, iv., 43, 44, 45, 46, 48. 

"But," said Christ, "what think you? A certain 
man had tw^o sons, and, coming to the first, he 
said: ^Son, go work to-day in my vineyard.' 
And he answering, said : ■ I will not.' But after- 
wards, being moved with repentance, he went, 
and coming to the other he said in like manner. 
And he, answering, said : ^I go, sir,' and he went 
not. Which of the two did the father's will?" 

"They say to him : 'The first.' Jesus saith to 
them: 'Amen, I say to you, that the publicans 
and the harlots shall go into the Kingdom of God 
before you. For John came to you in the way 
of justice, and you did not believe him. But the 
publicans and the harlots believed him ; but you, 
seeing it, did not even afterwards repent, that you 
might believe him.'" — Matt, xxi., 28, 29, 30, 31. 

What a delightful satisfaction it is to be helpful 
to others — to pass our lives going about doing 
good for the sake of the happiness we confer on 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY I9 

the recipient of our benevolence, rather than for 
the desire of any selfish gain, or pecuniary ad- 
vantage to ourselves. The world has never been, 
in any age, without some noble, pious, self-sacri- 
ficing souls, which made it a religious duty to care 
for the sick, and the suffering, and, in fact, for 
many of those who were incompetent to care for 
themselves. But it was reserved for Christianity 
to inspire men and women with the sublimest 
conception of the duties and compass of charity ; 
which made such a degree of self-forgetfulness 
necessary to be practised, as never has failed to 
excite the wonder and astonishment of mankind in 
general, who are incapable of an}^ self-forgetful- 
ness whatever ; and who live chiefly for what they 
can make out of each other by wholly selfish laws 
and customs ; regarding every one as foolish who 
bases his life upon the high and holy principles 
of self-sacrificing charity, — a love that never 
faileth ; that takes by the hand, and draws to its 
heart, the helpless and forsaken, and makes sun- 
shine in souls where all before was darkness, 
hopelessness, and despair ! And who but our dear 



20 GLIMPSES OF THE 

Savior, Christ, could inspire such heroic love and 
self-forgetfulness in the human heart and mind? 
He brought it with Him across the threshold of 
the temple, and into the lowly hovels of the poor. 
Christ, who, as the word, was in the beginning 
with God, and was God ; who was the maker of 
all things ; nor was anything made by any other ; 
who, when evil wrought the fall of Adam, became 
by appointment of the Father, our gracious and 
voluntary Redeemer from the penalty of violated 
law, which was the terrible curse of eternal death ! 
— who, in the fulness of time, came in the flesh, 
being conceived by our Lady, the Virgin Mary, 
through the power of the Holy Spirit, to be a 
sacrifice and atonement for our sins, as was fore- 
ordained in the councils of God, and promised 
mankind through the Covenant of Grace made by 
Him with Abraham, and confirmed unto Isaac and 
Jacob. How faithfully the Son fulfilled His mis- 
sion upon earth by appointment of the Father, 
Holy Writ doth testify, and the Church doth 
unceasingly proclaim ; while it has ever done 
honor to His name, and celebrated His priceless 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 21 

love and its dazzling glory. What a beautifully 
brief, divine, heroic, self-sacrificing life, was that of 
our dear Lord and Savior ! Who can measure its 
magnitude, as a moral and religious force? How 
many millions of sad and despairing souls, since 
His death and resurrection, have been comforted 
and made happy by sincere faith in His atonement, 
authority and divinity ! If the Son of God, yea, 
the very Father himself as a God-man, could 
patiently bear what was borne, as necessary for 
the sacrifice made for the redemption of man from 
the curse of sin, and of its penalty of eternal 
death, who should murmur at any suffering at- 
tendant upon this life, or think any sacrifice of 
vanity, pride, or personal ease, too great for them 
to make to the honor and glory of the Messiah? 
How majestic and faultless was His character ; 
never yet has there been a charge of sin, or 
weakness, even, brought against it. The vilest, 
most reckless, and darkened-minded infidel who 
has lived at any time in this world, never yet has 
discovered anything with which to attack the sub- 
lime character of the Savior ; nor has he dared. 



22 GLIMPSES OF THE 

at the suggestion of an evil mind, to make an 
assault. At the early age of twelve, Jesus was 
found in the Temple with the Doctors of the Old 
Testament, or Jewish law, asking them questions, 
and attentively listening to their discourses, while 
He astonished them with the wisdom of His an- 
swers. Believed to have been brought up at the 
trade of His foster father, Joseph, — it was not until 
He was about thirty years of age that he entered 
upon His gloriously wonderful ministry, and com- 
pleted that stupendous spiritual and moral work for 
the salvation of man from the curse of his own law 
lessness, — work given Him to do, by the Father, 
as a voluntary sacrifice of Himself to the unyield- 
ing behests of law ; beneath the rigorous exactions 
and oblivion of which man would have remained 
forever, but for the immeasurable love of God, 
as the Son, Redeemer, Prophet, Priest, King and 
Judge. Mystery of mysteries I Who can hope 
ever to penetrate it, — to harmonize it with human 
nature and natural law? Yet, before us it stands 
boldly out as the Rock of Ages, — an almighty 
and imperative truth ! 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 23 

Ascending from the river Jordan, where, at the 
baptism of John, the Holy Ghost descended upon 
him in the shape of a dove, a voice was heard 
coming from the open heaven, saying: "This is 
My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." 
Then it was He went forth on His mission of 
superlative love ! Meeting with Simon Peter, at 
Lake Genesareth, after His forty days' sojourn 
and fast in the wilderness, and temptation by the 
devil, and His teaching in the synagogue of Naz- 
areth, from which He was thrust by an enraged 
populace, provoked by His pretensions, independ- 
ent spirit and bearing, — meeting with Simon, and 
feeling a close fellow^ship with sympathetic souls, 
He made a confident of him and his fellow-fisher- 
men, James and John, whom He promised hence- 
forth that they should catch men, in the place of 
fishes ; and wrought for their benefit a surprising 
miracle, w^hich confirmed their faith in Him as a 
superior being and teacher, with the divine and 
almighty power of forgiving sins ; which caused 
the Pharisees, who believed God onl}' had that 
power, to denounce Him as a blasphemer. But 



24 GLIMPSES OF THE 

He confounded these sceptics, and put them to 
confusion by the simple question: "Which is 
easier to say, ^Thy sins are forgiven thee/ or, to 
say, ^Rise up and walk?'" thereupon commanding 
the helpless, palsied man to take up his bed and 
go unto his own house ; which he at once did, 
glorifying God, and effectually silencing the 
abusive Pharisees and Scribes ; who watched Jesus 
continually, that they might find cause for accusing 
Him. It was at this time He took Levi into His 
confidence, a publican and a tax-collector, which 
led the Scribes and Pharisees to rail at Him 
because of this, and His attending a feast made by 
Levi, — Matthew, — in His honor. This assault 
drew forth from the adorable Savior that memor- 
able speech, so pertinent and instructive, namely : 
"They that are whole need not a physician; but 
they that are sick. I came not to call the just and 
righteous, but sinners, to penance." They did not, 
nor could they, answer Him. In every attempt 
made throughout His entire ministry to convict 
Him of error, they signally failed, and marvelled 
at His mastery. 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 25 

Having chosen from among His disciples twelve 
to be near His person and for special service, He 
delivered to them, and a great multitude, besides, 
a complete instruction in the moral and religious 
truths he wished, as Christianity, to found, and 
make effective for good and righteous living 
throughout the world ! From that time onward, to 
His betrayal by Judas in Gethsemane, — a garden 
on the Mount of Olives, — and His trial, crucifixion 
and resurrection. He but reiterated, and in beauti- 
fully simple speech, enforced the morality and 
religion of His "Sermon on the Mount," as teach- 
ing to be accepted, and taken nearly and dearly ta 
heart, by all who trust in Him and His Church 
throughout the ages. 

A more charming illustration of Hope, Faith 
and Charity than is to be seen in the sublimely 
divine life of Jesus cannot even be imagined, and, 
last of all, realized. Well may such a life and 
character have drawn from Napoleon the Great, 
when in exile at St. Helena, the following grand 
tribute of admiration and love, — of faith in and 
devotion to the Godhead of Jesus, the Savior ! 



26 GLIMPSES OF THE 

It may be found in Abbott's Memoirs of the 
wonderful hero and master of mankind : " April 
2ist, 1821. Said Napoleon to Dr. Antommachi, 
who attended him : ^ You are an atheist, sir, and 
a physician. Physicians, dealing so exclusively 
with matter, are not given to believe in aught else. 
You hold yourselves above these weaknesses. I 
believe in God, and am of the religion of my 
father. Be an atheist, if you will and can, sir ; 
but as for me, I was born a Catholic, and I fulfill 
all the duties which religion imposes, and seek all 
the solace which it administers.'" 

The conversation at St. Helena frequently 
turned on the subject of religion. Of the divinity 
of Christ, Napoleon said to General Bertrand, 
w^ho was a scoffing infidel: "I tell you, sir, I 
know men, and I say that Jesus Christ is not a 
man. Superficial minds see a resemblance be- 
tween Christ, and the founders of empires, and 
the gods of other religions. That resemblance 
does not exist. There is between Christianity and 
other religions the distance of infinity I Everything 
in Christ astonishes me ; His spirit overawes me, 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 27 

and His will confounds me. Between Him and 
whatever else in the world, there is no possible 
term of comparison. He is truly a being by Him- 
self. His ideas and His sentiments, the truths 
which He announces. His manner of convincing, 
are not explained, either by human organization, 
or the nature of things. It is all to me a mystery, 
which I can neither deny nor explain. His relig- 
ion is certainly a revelation from an intelligence 
far superior to man's. Its originality is profound, 
creating a series of words and of maxims before 
unknow^n. Nothing is borrowed from the sciences. 
Nowhere can be found, but in Him alone, the 
imitation or the example of His life. He is not a 
philosopher, since He advances by miracles, and 
from the commencement His disciples worshipped 
Him. He persuaded far more by an appeal to 
the heart, than any display of method and of 
logic. Neither did He impose upon them any 
preliminary studies, or any knowledge of letters. 
All His religion consists in believing. In fact, in 
His view, the sciences and philosophy avail noth 
ing for salvation ; since they teach us naught of 



28 GLIMPSES OE THE 

the mysteries of heaven or the laws of the spirit 

which He came to reveal. It is with the soul He 

has to do, and with that only ; and to it He brings 

His gospel. Before Him the soul was as nothing. 

Matter and Time were the masters of the world I 

At His voice everything returns to order. Science 

and philosophy become secondary. The soul has 

reconquered its sovereignty. All the scholastic 

scaffolding falls, as an edifice ruined, before one 

single word, — Faith! What a master, what a 

word, which can effect such a revolution ! If this 

is not the true religion, one is very excusable in 

being deceived, for everything in it is grand and 

worthy of God. I search in vain in history to find 

the similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can 

approach the Word of God. There is nothing to 

be named to which I am able to compare it, or 

explain it. Here everything is extraordinary. 

The more I consider Holy Writ, the more I am 

assured that there is nothing there which is not 

beyond the march of events, and above the human 

mind. Even the impious themselves have never 

denied its sublimity, which inspires them with a 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 29 

sort of compulsory veneration. What happiness 
the Bible procures for them who believe it ! What 
marvels those admire there who reflect upon it ! 
Book unique, where the mind finds a moral beauty 
before unknown ; and an idea of the Supreme 
Power, superior even to that which creation sug- 
gests ! Who, but God himself, could produce 
that type, that ideal of perfection equally exclusive 
and original? 

" Christ, having but a few weak disciples, was 
ignominiously pursued by the wrath of the Jewish 
priesthood, and crucified. He died in the con- 
tempt of the nation, abandoned and denied by His 
own disciples and apostles. Yet, as He promised, 
His cross has made Him dear to the hearts of 
multitudes in every generation, and simply by a 
mysterious energy in individuals scattered here 
and there in all parts of the world, having no 
other rallying sign than a common faith in its 
mysteries ! What a unique, mysterious symbol ! 
— the instrument of the punishment of the God- 
man. His disciples were armed with it. ' The 
Christ, God,' they said, 'had died for the salvation 



30 GLIMPSES OF THE 

of men.' What a strife these simple words have 
raised around this standard of a divine love and 
religion ! For three hundred years the spirit 
struggled against the brutality of sense ; the con- 
science against despotism ; the soul against the 
body ; virtue against all the vices ! In torrents the 
blood of Christians flowed, kissing the hands that 
slew them, as they died ! Everywhere Christians 
fell, and everywhere they triumphed. The Cross 
has come to be a mighty and sublime power, 
assailed though it has been, and is, by the furious 
billows of rage, and the hostility of ages. And 
who, but God, for eighteen hundred years and 
more, has protected the Church from so many 
storms which have threatened to engulf it. No- 
where than in the Gospel and the Church, is to be 
found such a series of beautiful ideas, admirable 
moral maxims, which defile like the battalions of 
a celestial army, and which produce in our souls 
the same emotion that one experiences in contem- 
plating the infinite expanse of the skies, resplen- 
dent on a summer's night with all the brilliance of 
the stars. Not only is our mind absorbed by the 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 31 

great truths of our religion, it is likewise en- 
thralled ; and the soul can never go far astray, 
with Holy Writ and the Church for its guide. 
Once master of our spirit, the faithful Gospel 
loves us. God ever is our friend, our Father, and 
truly our God. The mother has no greater care 
for the infant whom she nurses. What a proof of 
the divinity of Christ ! With an empire so abso- 
lute, He has but one single end, the spiritual 
melioration of individuals, the purity of the con- 
science, the union to that which is true, the holiness 
of the soul ! Christ speaks, and at once gener- 
ations become His, by stricter, closer ties than 
those of blood, — by the most sacred, the most 
indissoluble of all unions ! He lights up the flame 
of love which consumes self-love, and prevails over 
every love. The founders of other religions never 
conceived of this mystical love, which is the 
essence of Christianity, and is beautifully called 
Charity, In every attempt to effect this thing, 
namely, to make himself beloved^ man deeply feels 
his own impotence. So that Christ's greatest 
miracle undoubtedly is the reign of charity. " 



32 GLIMPSES OF THE 

Mankind can never be too grateful to Napoleon 
for this tribute to the love and charity of Jesus 
Christ. It is, as the great general says, the 
•charity inculcated by the Christian Religion, 
which gives it pre-eminence over all other relig- 
ions, and is its great and charming characteristic. 
And it is just this characteristic that gives the 
Brothers of Charity such an influence over the 
hearts of men. The more closely we study their 
sublime vocation, the more heroic it appears. At 
a time when many are saying that the power 
and usefulness of religious communities are de- 
clining, they, in their simple life, are exerting an 
influence that would have been noticeable in the 
^brightest age of Christian history. 




BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITV 33 




CHAPTER 11, 

Origin of the Congregation of the Brothers of Charity 
— A Short Sketch of Their Founder — Death of 
Father Bernard de Noter, the First Superior. 

For the history of the Brothers of Charity, we 
must go back to the early part of the eighteenth 
century — see the frightful desolation caused by 
the French Revolution, behold Louis XVI., de- 
throned and imprisoned, and recall the dying 
groans of hundreds of beings, the innocent victims 
of wild fanaticism. 

Nearly all Europe was engaged in war. 
Churches were in ruins, and almost every trace of 
religion obliterated ; the faithful gathered into 
rude huts and stables, which were transformed 
into temples of the Most High. Priests offered 



34 GT.IMPSES OF THE 

the Holy Sacrifice in secrecy and fear. Such was 
the state of affairs when the Concordat of 1801 
restored freedom to religious worship. 

During this period, in that quaint old city of Bel- 
gium, called Ghent, a modest and unassuming 
priest. Father Triest, better known as the "St. Vin- 
cent de Paul of Belgium," might be seen, evidently 
in profound thought. With an aching heart he had 
experienced the miseries just described, and he 
sighed to heal the bleeding wounds caused by 
poverty and distress. He saw the youth of Bel- 
gium growing up, much in need of religious 
instruction, and he humbly begged God to inspire 
noble, generous souls to alleviate this distress. 

As we study the history of the world, we find 
God continually making use of the weak to con- 
found the strong. We read of young Saul de- 
feating the great Amelec and delivering Israel from 

the hands of the enemy; Gregory XL, restored to 
the Eternal City through the instrumentality of a 
frail woman ; a mere child, St. Rose of Viterbo, 
speaks, and the power of Frederick H., in all its 
might and magnificence, is shaken to its very 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 35 

foundation ; and, lastly, we see rude fishermen 
chosen to preach the word of Eternal Life. 

Father Triest was a chosen vessel of Divine 
Grace, whom Providence made use of to adorn 
the fair land of Belgium with a great number of 
charitable institutions, which soon wiped away the 
distress and misery left after the " Reign of 
Terror." He founded the Congregations of the 
Brothers of Charity, and the Brothers of St. John 
of God. Two congregations of women, known 
as the Sisters of Charity, and the Sisters of the 
Holy Childhood of Jesus, also claim him as their 
founder. To reach the more neglected of God's 
poor he established several societies of laymen, 
who visited the sick at their homes, caring for all 
with the most Christian charity. 

Among the virtues which adorned the soul of 
Father Triest, Faith, Hope and Charity were the 
most conspicuous. His faith was always fervent, 
and showed itself in every act and deed of his 
life. With faith and submission to the authority 
of the Church, he carried on his work of ad- 
vancing the communities he had founded. These 



36 GLIMPSES OF THE 

communities were organized in such complete 
poverty that we might say their sole foundation 
was Divine Providence. 

From this faith, so pure, so firm, so deeply 
rooted in the soul of Father Triest, sprang, as a 
leaf on a plant, that Hope in God which no power 
could shake, and which was his constant support 
in the hour of trial. He had a particular mission 
to erring souls. Like some great eagle sheltering 
its imperilled young from the rocky precipice, he 
spread the wing of hope over the sinner and 
brought him back to Christ ; or like his Divine 
Master, who refused to cast a stone at the poor, 
sinful woman in the gospel, he sought to raise the 
fallen one by words of hope and comfort. This 
life of loving service won the hearts of those to 
whom he ministered. His strength lay in his 
ardent hope in God. 

In the soul of Father Triest were united, in the 
sweetest harmony, the love of God, and the love of 
his neighbor in and for God. It was the glorious 
sun of his charity, that filled the soul of the cold 
and hardened sinner, with the warmth of God's 




Very Rev. Canon DeDecker 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARriY 27 

love and mercy. That mode of conduct which 
he himself practised, he desired to be observed by 
others. For he wished to see those who were 
called to a life of perfection marching to it gaily, 
and not with sad faces and heavy hearts. He 
never wearied of recommending the practise of 
charity, to the members of his beloved congrega- 
tions. All were persuaded that no one loved them 
as did this true Father. 

The Congregation of Brothers to which he gave 
the sweet name of "Charity," and with w^hich this 
trief history is concerned, has for its object the 
sanctification of its members, by the practise of 
w^orks of charity. These works chiefly consist in 
caring for the sick, the old and insane, orphan and 
friendless boys, and the blind. 

The foundation of such a Congregation in 
Europe during those stormy days of the French 
Revolution was a daring undertaking, and doubt- 
less provoked much comment among the idle and 
curious. But like all the other good works founded 
by Father Triest, the Congregation of the Brothers 
of Charity made rapid progress, and spread itself 



38 GLIMPSES OF THE 

all over Belgium, and, after fifty years of existence, 
it crossed the mighty ocean and brought its gospel 
of Charity and good will to a new continent. 

But in these early days only God, who saw the 
hard labors of this little band of Brothers, could 
have any idea of the wonderful growth with which 
the small beginning was to be blessed. 

The first Superior-General of the Congregation 
was Father Bernard De Noter. He was a man of 
solid piety, and gifted with rare energy. God had 
chosen him to be the first superior, and the support 
of the Congregation during its days of infancy, 
— days that were filled with trials and hardships 
which required a heroism approaching the sublime 
to withstand and endure. So thick and fast did 
bitter trials succeed each other, that the first com- 
panions of Father De Noter grew sick with 
discouragement, and abandoned the Congregation 
just a few months before their term of probation 
expired. Father De Noter, all undaunted, re- 
mained faithful to his vocation, and, with the help 
of the venerable founder, he succeeded in recruit- 
ing new companions, who longed to lead a life of 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 39 

obscurity, humiliation and poverty, for the kingdom 
of heaven's sake. 

After four years of severe trials. Father De 
Noter and three of his companions w^ere admitted 
to their vow^s, on November 26th, 181 1. Father 
De Noter consecrated the new Congregation to the 
Q^ieen of Heaven. Tossed about like a fragile 
bark on the billow^s of time, the infant community 
was on the verge of dissolution, when God's protect- 
ing hand drew it out of danger. The meagre four 
grew into hundreds, and four years later the General 
was able to found a second house in Ghent for the 
care of the insane. In 1820 Father Bernard found- 
ed another house at Bruges, which is to-day the 
largest and most important institution of the Con- 
gregation. Later, in 1832, he went to Louvain 
and founded a school for the education of youth. 
This school, under the direction of the Brothers, 
is still flourishing, and has an average attendance 
of one thousand pupils. 

Worn out with hard labor and a life spent in 
trials and hardships for the sake of the Divine 
Master, the day of rest and reward was at last 



40 GLIMPSES OF THE 

drawing near for Father Bernard De Noter. It 
was seen that the Reverend Superior was suffering 
more than commonly ; but his courage gave false 
hopes to the Brothers. The hand of death was 
upon him, and day by day he faded away. Finally 
the end came, on a bright June morning, in the 
year 1832. Four j^ears later Canon Triest, the 
pious founder, followed the venerable Superior 
into eternity. 

Father Aloysius succeeded Father Bernard ; and 
Rev. Benedict Constantine De Decker, who had 
been coadjutor to Canon Triest in the management 
of the affairs of the Congregation, succeeded him 
in his office. 

Thus passed away these two heroic souls. Great 
during life, they were yet greater in death, and on 
their entrance into their heavenly home they might 
have said : " We have glorified Thee upon earth, 
we have finished the work which Thou gavest us 
to do." They were both magnificent instruments 
in the hands of God, whose designs are covered 
with an impenetrable veil, and are generally only 
known by their results. 




Rev. Brother Amedeus, 
Superior-General of the Brothers of Charity. 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 



41^ 




CHAPTER III. 

Brother Gregory Elected Superior -General — Thel 
Founding of New Houses — Brother Gregory Re- 
signs — Election of Brother Nicholas — The Ad~ 

VANCEMENT OF THE CONGREGATION DeATH OF BrO. 

Nicholas — Election of Bro. Amedeus, the Present 
Superior-General of the Congregation. 



Under the direction of the Rev. Canon De 
Decker, and the generalship of Father Aloysius, 
the number of houses belonging to the Congrega- 
tion was increased by the new foundations of The 
Strop, (the school of the Biloque) in Ghent, St. 
Charles' Institute in Antwerp, and the blind 
asylum, known as Van Caneghem, in Ghent. 

At a general chapter held in the year 1862, 
Brother Gregory, Superior of the Royal Institute 
of the Deaf, Dumb and Blind in Brussels, was 



42 GLIMPSES OF THE 

elected General Superior. During the three years 
of his administration, and under the direction of 
Rev. Canon Deporte, who had succeeded Canon 
Decker, as Rev. Father of the Congregation, the 
new houses of Selzaete, Ziekeren, St. Trond were 
established. The Deaf and Dumb Institute of 
Ghent, which until now had formed one of the 
dependencies of The Biloque, was transferred to 
Roeighen (Ghent) and became a part of the newly 
built institute. It was also imder the administra- 
tion of Brother Gregory that the first institution 
abroad, — that of Montreal, — was founded. This 
institution, which is now the mother house of the 
American Province, was governed by the lamented 
Brother Eusebius, first provincial in America, of 
whom we shall speak later. 

In October 1865, Father Aloysius was re-elected 
to the office of General Superior. During the whole 
of his second term, he bent his energies to the 
maintaining and strengthening of the institutions. 
Owing to his advanced years and failing health, 
he shrank from the responsibility of founding 
new ones. He was zealous in preserving a spirit 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 43 

of simplicity, poverty and retirement ; watchful to 
maintain the observance of the rule in its minutest 
points ; attentive to procure the advancement of 
each member of the community in the solid virtue 
of humility. Finally, growing too feeble to bear 
the burdens of the responsible office, which he had 
filled so satisfactorily for the long period of thirty- 
six years, he asked to resign. The permission 
was granted him, and October 6th, 187 1, the 
Chapter elected to the vacant office Brother 
Nicholas, who had been director of the school of 
The Biloque for over twenty-seven years. 

The new general took up his task where his 
predecessor had -left it, and devoted his labors to 
the perfecting of the various houses of the Con- 
gregation. He traced out a uniformity of method 
to be adopted in each institution. 

During the short period of his administration he 
accomplished an incalculable amount of good. 
Fraternal charity was the constant theme of his 
discourses to his brethren. In the government 
of the various houses, he regulated everything 
with great wisdom ; even the smallest details gave 



44 GLIMPSES OF THE 

evidence that the spirit which presided there was 
inspired. Here we may note that it was during 
his administration the Brothers took charge of The 
House of The Angel Guardian in Boston. The 
foundation of this institution and its history will 
be treated in another chapter. 

On August 20th, 1876, the summons of death 
was again heard, and Brother Nicholas laid down 
the burden of life, as cheerfully as he would have 
relinquished his charge, at the voice of his superior. 
The Chapter assembled and elected Brother 
Amedius, Superior General, who is still at the 
head of the Congregation ; young, strong, and 
gifted with high intellectual endowments, he guides 
the destiny of his flock with such zeal and success, 
that it should not be considered an indiscretion if 
his name were inscribed here in golden letters. 
During the seventeen years he has filled the office 
of Superior General, the Congregation has in- 
creased and multiplied in a manner that seems 
miraculous. New foundations have sprung up in 
England, Ireland, Canada and Belgium. The de- 
voted General is constantly receiving requests to 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 45 

iound new houses in various parts of Europe and 
America. 

Brother Amedeus has decided views on edu- 
cation. He understands, perfectly, the system 
of teaching, and the best methods of conveying 
knowledge to the young untutored mind. In rec- 
ognition of his services in the cause of education 
King Leopold of Belgium, in the year 1885, con- 
ferred on him the honored title of Grand Chevalier 
of The Order of Leopold ; another title — Chevalier 
of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception of 
Villa Viciosa — was conferred on him by the King 
of Portugal. 

In his great work of advancing the young 
American Province, Brother Amedeus has found 
able assistants in Brothers Eusebius, Justinian, and 
Hilduard, who have each, in turn, filled the office 
of Provincial of the American Province. Through 
the instrumentality of Brother Amedeus the rules 
of the Congregation of the Brothers of Charity 
were approved by Rome in 1888, and received 
words of praise and admiration from the revered 
pontiff, Leo XIII. 



46 GLIMPSES OF THE 

The following addresses are the tributes Brother 
Amedeus received from the English speaking houses 
of the Congregation on the happy occasion of his 
silver jubilee, which occurred February 22nd, 1889. 
They are sufficient to show the esteem and love in 
which the Rev. General is held by the flock he 
guides so well : 

ADDRESSES. 

Most Honored and Venerated Father General: 

Yes, dearly beloved Father in Christ, we, your 
affectionate children, rejoice indeed and join heart 
and soul with our cherished brethern on the Con- 
tinent, in Ireland and America, and most joyfully 
celebrate your Silver Jubilee. That Jubilee of 25 
years of indefatigable labor for God's glory and 
the good of souls. Oh ! that It were given us to 
lift for a moment the veil of the past ! What a 
history it would reveal ! There, we would find the 
innumerable sacrifices you have made ; the hard- 
ships you have undergone ; the acute pains you 
have endured, brought on by long watches and 
excessive labor ; the, humanly speaking, insur- 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 47 

mountable obstacles you have overcome ; and the 
most ardent prayers you have offered to God ; all, 
all that the Congregation, our Mother, might in- 
crease her sphere of usefulness, and, above all, 
should continue in the spirit of her founder, the 
great, the good Canon Triest, that true disciple of 
her holy Patron Saint Vincent de Paul. There, 
w^e would find the secret of that constant extension 
of existing good works ; those numerous creations 
of new institutions and their rapid development. 
But the crowning jewel of those most fruitful 
years is that priceless pearl, that inappreciable 
favor : the approbation of our constitutions by our 
Holy Father, Leo XIII, and the placing of our 
Congregation among those approved of by the 
Church. That, and that alone, should insure to 
you, beloved Father General, the love, veneration, 
and lifelong gratitude of your children. 

But that love and gratitude you have long since 
won by your kindness, your fatherly affection, and 
your unwearied solicitude for the temporal and 
spiritual welfare of each one of us. 

Ah ! we know but too w^ell our inability to repay 



48 GLIMPSES OF THE 

even a mite of what, after God, we owe to your 
kind and devoted heart ; but we trust, and most 
fervently pray that our Blessed Lord will have 
pity on our weakness and take upon Himself the 
fulfilment of our obligations, by granting you 
peace and happiness here below, while waiting for 
the beautiful crown prepared for you in His glori- 
ous mansions above. 

In the meantime, we will endeavor to prove by 
our fidelity to our holy Constitutions and Rules, 
our ardent desire to do all in our power to show 
our love and gratitude for you, most honored, most 
beloved, and most kind Father General. 

Your grateful children in J.-C, 

Father Linus and the Brothers 
OF Buckley Hall. 

Rochdale, May, 1889. 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 49 

JUBILEE SONG TO FATHER GENERAL. 

BY THE BOYS OF BUCKLEY HALL, ROCHDALE. 



Honor to you, we boys are singing, 

Vi-val-ler-al-ler-al-ler-a, 
While still jour jubilee bells are ringing, 

Vi-val-ler-al-ler-al-ler-a ; 
We truly wish you all the joys, 
Giv'n to a Father by his boys. 

Vi-valler-aller-aller-a, 

Vi-valler-aller-aller-a, 

Vi-valler-aller-aller-a. 

Then children haste your vows to pay, 

Vi-val-ler-al-ler-al-ler-a, 
To our kind Father, O ! let us say 

Vi-val-ler-al-ler-al-ler-a ; 
We will be brave, honest and true, 
And obedient in our love for you. 

Vi-valler-aller-aller-a, 

Vi-valler-aller-aller-a, 

Vi-valler-aller-aller-a. 

Receive, then, our joyous greeting, 

Vi-val-ler-al-ler-al-ler-a, 
And our prayers to heaven ascending, 

Vi-val-ler-al-ler-al-ler-a ; 
That your golden jubilee 
You may happily live to see. 

Vi-valler-aller-aller-a, 

Vi-valler-aller-aller-a, 

Vi-valler-aller-aller-a. 



50 GLIMPSES OE THE 

Very Dear and Reverend Father General: 

We, your devoted children, the Religious of St. 
Patrick's Institution in this country, take this op- 
portunity of your visit amongst us, with the deep- 
est feelings of reverence and love, to congratulate 
you most heartily on the completion of your silver 
jubilee in our Congregation, at the head of which 
you have spent half of that time. Words fail us 
to convey to you all that our hearts feel ; but we 
may assure you with perfect honesty that, while 
we have but seldom the happiness of being gath- 
ered round our common Father on Earth, the 
distance even at which we are living from his 
official residence lends a stronger degree to our 
affection for him, and causes us ever to look with 
unfeigned joy at the least chance we may have to 
welcome him amongst us, to show him our devot- 
edness to his person, and make him happy with 
the certainty that he may have every confidence in 
this the most distant Institution and House of the 
Congregation in Western Europe, in the Belgium 
Province, where his will is law, and his desires 
the wishes of all the Religious serving this house. 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 5 I 



We earnestly pray God and foster the fond hope 
that our dear Father General may long be spared 
to govern our Congregation, to see it extend, year 
by year, its sphere of usefulness, and to obtain an 
ample supply of candidates after his own heart. 

May you. Father General, long be spared in 
health to govern our dear Congregation with that 
zeal and prudence and love of which you have 
for many years given to all so conspicuous an 
example. 

We thank God, we thank you, dear Father, for 
the signal honor bestowed on us and the Congre- 
gation through your assiduous and sustained efforts 
with the Roman authorities, by which our Congre- 
gation has at length been recognized, and approved 
by the Holy Father ; a work, we know, which has 
seriously affected your health and strength, but a 
work of love which lay nearest to your heart, and 
from which an untold degree of good is likely to 
spring. 

Whether we look towards the East on our insti- 
tutions in the country of the birth of the Congre- 
gration, or towards the far West of Canada and 



52 GLIMPSES OF THE 

the United States, wherever we find an Institution 
of the Brothers of Charity, there we also find a 
House of the Congregation, and not only a House, 
but the Congregation itself ; for now it is one and 
indivisible, and all its members are under one head 
everywhere under the sun, all united in a strong 
bond of love and affection for our dear Father 
General. 

As you are, Father General, to embark once 
more upon a long and fatiguing voyage, and to 
face no less fatiguing labors in the far West, we 
beg of our good God to be with you, both on land 
and sea, in a special manner. May your travels 
be comfortable, your cares easy, your labors con- 
soling, your return prosperous, and let us express 
the hope of once more seeing you, if possible, on 
your return home. May the Son of God bless 
and protect you, and give you the unspeakable 
consolation of seeing and leaving wherever your 
travels are to take you, everyone and everything 
in such order and such flourishing state as you 
yourself could wish and desire for the honor and 
glory of God and the credit of the Congregation. 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 53 

Such, dear Father General, are the wishes of 
your devoted children 

The Superior and Brothers 
OF Belmont Park. 

Waterford, Ireland, May, 1889, 



Very Reverend and Dear Father Superior : 

We, the members of the Community, beg to 
offer you our heartfelt congratulations on the occa- 
sion of your election for twelve years as Superior 
General of our Congregation, If one day spent 
in the House of the Lord ; if the mere invitation 
to enter it seemed to the Royal Prophet a cause 
for joy and jubilation, how^ much more reason 
have we to rejoice at the long period which it was 
given you to spend in the service of God, especially 
when we consider what is implied in five and 
twenty years of religious life, and twelve of 
apostleship to the souls entrusted to your care. 
Those years have been years of generous self- 
sacrifice, of anxious solicitude, of bitter trials and 
many sufferings ; but if the sowing has been in 



54 GLIMPSES OF THE 

sorrow and the casting of seed amidst tears, the 
reaping has been in joyfulness ; and today we may 
well congratulate ourselves and you that the tree 
you have planted, and the vine you have cultivated, 
have received wonderful increase, and borne plen- 
tiful fruit, and that the works you have under- 
taken truly flourish, being visibly blessed by the 
Almighty. 

In our labors and merits you have a large share, 
as the first fruits belong to him who has tilled the 
soil and sown the seed. Justly may we rejoice and 
congratulate you, our Friend and our Father, on 
the great things it hath pleased the Lord to accom- 
plish through you, during these twelve years of 
your generalship. Like the good shepherd, you 
walk before us in the path of duty, attracting by 
sweetness and charity and gentleness, correcting 
with meekness and mercy, leading by patience and 
example, strengthening the weak, confirming the 
strong, carrying the weary, comforting those who 
suffer, bringing back the straying, sustaining, aid- 
ing, consoling, pouring out the healing balm, 
binding up the wounds, being spent and spending 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 55 

for the sake of your flock, your time, your mind, 
your heart, your strength, your health and your 
life. Ever since Providence has placed you over 
us, you have been, to speak in the words of our 
Patron Saint Vincent, ''the pattern of your flock 
from the heart," and your constant aim has been to 
make sweet the yoke of the Lord, and to render 
its burden light, winning all hearts by your loving 
kindness, in order to draw them to God. 

We venerate in you the Pastor of whom the 
Lord says: ''I will raise me up a faithful priest, 
and he shall do according to my heart and my 
soul, and I will build him a faithful house, and he 
shall walk all day before my anointed, and his 
path shall be the path of the just, a shining light 
going forwards and increasing even to perfect 
day." 

We honor in you, above all, the edifying model 
of religious virtues, of earnest zeal for souls, of 
piety, of religious humility and brotherly charity. 

Giving thanks to the Lord for the graces 
bestowed upon you, we will unite our prayers to 



56 GLIMPSES OF THE 

your prayers, and repeat with all the fervor of our 
hearts 

AD MULTOS ANNOS! 

The Superior and Brothers of the House 
OF Waterford. (Belmont Park.) 



Reverend and Dear Father : 

We, the pupils of the House of the Angel 
Guardian, respectfully bid you welcome to our 
Home. We know of no one having higher claims 
upon our affection. What we owe to the noble 
Brotherhood of Charity is more than can be 
described in words. At present we feel the pater- 
nal solicitude of its members every hour of our 
stay in this institution. Their guardianship stands 
as a perfect shield between us and evil. They 
watch our every step, note when we w^ander from 
the right path, and lovingly lead us back to it. 
Here, in the bosom of this happy family, untroubled 
by the discord and temptations of the streets, we 
learn how pleasant it is to be good. Should we 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 57 

forget it when we go out into the world, it will not 
be the fault of our good Superior, nor of his zeal- 
ous Brothers in Religion. His and their labors in 
our behalf now, can have none but a beneficial 
influence upon our future. For all this we are 
indebted to the Brothers of Charity, and w^e 
would be guilty of ingratitude beyond all expres- 
sion, were we not delighted to receive under our 
roof the man whom it has pleased the Almighty to 
call to the direction of their benevolent mission. 

But in tendering you this greeting, dear Father 
Amedeus, we are not so foolish as to think, for a 
moment, that we are in the remotest sense doing 
you a favor. As Head of a Congregation of 
Religious, whose lives are vowed to the service 
of the poor and the afflicted, you carry your wel- 
come with you wherever Christian heroism is 
esteemed. Much as the Congregation has done in 
this institution, we know it is but little in magni- 
tude and character to what it has done elsewhere. 
While its purpose is to save, its members daily 
perform deeds more truly heroic than have ever 
been done upon the battlefields of history. We 



58 GLIMPSES OF THE 

know of the unexampled services it renders to 
the aged, the poor, the sick, the blind, the deaf, 
the dumb, the insane and the criminal. To 
receive you. Father, to have under one roof 
with us the highest representative of this grand 
association, the projector and director of its Christ- 
like works, is a high privilege for which we 
cannot feel too grateful. 

Furthermore, we are aware that, distinguished 
as is the office you hold in the Congregation, you 
have still more distinguished it by your personal 
efforts. 

In your own country, you have made the Con- 
gregation an impregnable barrier to the irreligious 
education of the day, winning thereby the respect 
alike of friends and foes. 

Your sovereign has recognized your services to 
popular instruction, by creating you Chevalier of 
the Order of Leopold, and the confidence with 
which you have inspired the members of your 
Brotherhood has been manifested in their election 
of you to be the Superior General for the unusual 
period of twelve years. Of these testimonies of 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 59 

esteem, we do not need to be told that the 
latter is by far the most highly prized by you. 
The former you have accepted in loyal deference 
to the wishes of your king, and from motives, we 
are sure, untainted by human vanity. But never 
were spurs so nobly won, and never will there be 
so true a Knight. In the field selected for you by 
the pious Canon Triest, we know that you will 
be sans ^eur et sans reproche. 

In welcoming you then, Father Amedeus, we 
are but honoring ourselves and partaking of the 
blessing which such as you, for whom so many 
prayers ascend to Heaven, must carry with you 
wherever you go. We could wish you to remain 
always with us, but as this cannot be, we trust your 
stay will be long, for we know it will be made 
most pleasant to you by our good friend and 
Father, our dear Superior. 

The Pupils of the House 
Of the Angel Guardian (Boston), 



The preceding pages have displayed before our 
readers a brief sketch of the early history of the 



6o 



GLIMPSES OF THE 



Congregation ; they have seen the protecting hand 
of Providence ever extended over it and manifest- 
ing His love for it in manifold ways. 

We w^ill devote the next chapter to the House 
of The Angel Guardian, Boston, Mass., which 
is the only institution in the United States con- 
ducted by the Brothers of Charity. 





Founder of the House of the Angee 
Guardian. 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 6l 



i 


^^JfeJx. 




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W^^^^^^^^^^^^M, 




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k^aul 



CHAPTER IV. 

Work of the Brothers of Charity in The House of 
The Angel Guardian — Father Haskins — Brother 
Justinian 

A tourist taking a survey of Boston, so cele- 
brated for the grandeur of its buildings, the culture 
of its citizens, the magnificent beauty of its sub- 
urbs, beholds almost every indication of the 
highest degree of civilization and refinement. 

As he gazes on the many institutions erected to 
relieve every kind of human misery, perchance 
his path may lead him to Vernon Street, which lies 
in one of the suburbs of the city ; and no wonder 
that he asks, what is the purpose of the large brick 
building that stands out so conspicuously before 
him. Tarry, indulgent stranger, and hear the 
story this building has to tell. Your delay need 



62 GLIMPSES OF THE 

not be long, for it has a history of only forty years 
to record. 

Yes, not many years ago the suburb of Boston, 
bearing the name of Roxbury, now teeming with 
every evidence of progress, and every proof of 
industry, was considered a farming district. Time 
passed on, and one cold November day, on the 
site where now stands The House of The Angel 
Guardian, there stood a saintly priest viewing the 
barren spot, while before his mind's eye loomed up 
the great brick structure, which he was to build to 
shelter homeless and wandering waifs from the sin 
and crime of a great city. 

For the history of this man's life we must take 
a further retrospect — see religion persecuted by a 
New England Knownothingism, listen to the 
lamentations of the devoted Ursuline nuns over 
the burning of their convent-home, and recall the 
cruelty and humiliation endured by noble Catholic 
priests, to spread the faith in New England. Ah ! 
thus has cruel intolerance, in the name of liberty, 
drawn groans and denunciations from the very 
rocks of Massachusetts. 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 63 

It is not far fetched to say, that even in this 
nineteenth century, any Catholic reared and edu- 
cated in New England, can hear echoes that have 
been wafted from those days of cruelty and relig- 
ious persecution — echoes of the prayers that 
ascended from the lips of fervent priests for the 
peace of God's church ; groans wrenched from the 
honest, strong and manly Irish emigrant, who was 
denied the means of gaining bread for his little 
ones, on account of his loyalty to the Catholic 
faith ; sighs of sorrow, the wailings of distress that 
commingling, ascended on the breeze, and cried 
to heaven for protection from this barbarous 
cruelty. Such was the condition of affairs, just 
previous to the conversion of Father Haskins to 
the Catholic religion. Gloomy, indeed, appeared 
the horizon of the faith the Master had led 
him to espouse ; but when the same voice came 
nearer to his soul and called him to the priesthood, 
he entered with his whole strength into the spirit 
of his calling, and corresponded with the graces 
given him. No wonder, then, the result of his 
work should be what it is ! What power one 



64 GLIMPSES OF THE 

truly zealous priest may exert on mankind, is 
shown in the life of Father Haskins. 

To write such an eventful life as that of Father 
Haskins, would require quite a volume, therefore, 
we will content ourselves with simply giving a 
short sketch of the history of this great and good 
man. 

George Foxcroft Haskins, son of Thomas Has- 
kins and Elizabeth Foxcroft, both descendants of 
the first settlers of New England, and firm adher- 
ents of the Episcopal Church, was born April 4, 
1806, in his father's house, on the corner of Car- 
ver and Eliot Streets, Boston. At an early age 
he attended the school of Masters Webb and 
Payson, and later on the Boston Latin School, on 
School Street. Nothing of importance is recorded 
of his early childhood, except during the first 
years of his schooling, he conceived such a hatred 
-of flogging, that he lost no opportunity in after 
life, as his numerous writings attest, of declaim- 
ing against this cruel practice. 

At the age of sixteen, he entered Harvard Col- 
lege, and being an earnest student, he made a 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 65 

very successful course, and graduated with dis- 
tinction in 1826 ; desiring to prepare for the 
church, he commenced the study of Theology 
under the direction of the Revs. Alonzo Potter 
and George W. Doane, both of whom were after- 
wards Protestant Episcopal bishops. It was about 
this time that Dr. Lyman Beecher visited Boston, 
and delivered a series of lectures against the 
Catholic Church. Mr. Haskins and his life-long 
friend, the late George W. Lloyd, Esq., attended 
these lectures, and with a view of hearing both 
sides, also attended a course given by Right Rev. 
Bishop Fenwick and Doctor O'Flaherty, able and 
eloquent preachers, and practical expounders of 
the Catholic faith. The seeds of truth were thus 
planted in his mind before he realized that 
the foundation of his Protestant convictions was 
loosened. Mr. Haskins at this time officiated as 
layman at South Leicester, every Sunday. On 
Feb. 8, 1829, he was ordained deacon of the Epis- 
copal Church, by Bishop Griswold, and appointed 
Chaplain to the House of Industry, in Boston. In 
May, 1830, Mr. Haskins formed the acquaint- 



66 GLIMPSES OF THE 

ance of Rev. Father Wiley, then attached to 
the old Cathedral on Franklin Street. This 
acquaintance led in time to his conversion to the 
Catholic faith. Their meeting happened as fol- 
lows : There was in the House of Industry a 
poor old Irish woman, who, seeing her end 
approaching, begged for a Catholic priest. The 
superintendent answered the poor creature's re- 
quest in these words : " Oh ! I'll send you a 
priest as good as any of your Catholic priests ; " 
and he sent her the Chaplain. Mr. Haskins went 
to the dying wornan, who repeated to him her 
wish to see a Catholic priest before she died. The 
earnest manner in which she proffered her request 
moved his heart, and he said: "You shall have 
a priest; I'll go for him myself." He immediately 
went to the priest's house on Franklin Street, saw 
Father Wiley, told him his errand, and that he 
was a Protestant minister. The conversation which 
followed this announcement, induced Mr. Haskins 
to remark to a Protestant friend whom he met on 
leaving the house, that he would examine for 
himself certain things in Protestantism to which 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 67 

Father Wiley had referred ; and from that day 
his mind was bent on finding the truth. The old 
woman was visited by Father Wiley and received 
the Sacraments. When she saw the Protestant 
Chaplain again, she raised up her poor, weak 
hands, and, with tearful eyes, cried out: ''God 
bless you, sir ! O, God bless you, and may you 
be a Catholic before you die ! " 

Who can tell how much this poor, friendless 
woman's prayer had to do with Father Haskins' 
conversion? In God's sight it weighed more than 
the supplications of kings. In October, 1830, 
Rev. Mr. Haskins dissolved his connection with 
the House of Industry, and accepted a call as 
rector, in Grace Church, Boston. On December 
9, of the same year he was ordained by Bishop 
Griswold. It is related that while rector of 
Grace Church, Rev. Mr. Haskins, who always 
had a leaning towards children, attempted to draw 
around him the little Irish boys of the North 
End, by bringing them into his own house, 
treating them to candy, etc., amusing them with 
various games, and trying to give them bible les- 



68 GLIMPSES OF THE 

sons. He used to say that the game worked well 
enough in winter, but, as soon as the fine weather 
came the birds flew away ; when the boys were 
asked why they didn't come to him, they would 

answer : " He is only a Protestant Minister, 

why should we listen to him?" 

In October, 1830, he resigned his position in 
Grace Church, Boston, and accepted an engage- 
ment in Grace Church, Providence, R. I. Here 
his labors in the Protestant ministry were crowned 
with unusual success, though under this outward 
calm there was a worrying current of doubt and 
perplexity, which was not lessened by the following 
incident, related by himself, in a letter, to Father 
Wiley, some years after. 

"I shall never forget," says he, "an old Catholic 
woman in Providence, that shut up my mouth one 
evening. One of her family was a Protestant and 
a member of my parish. I called to see him as 
was my custom, and began extolling the Episcopal 
Church, and exhorting him to frequent the Sacra- 
ments, but I had better have been a league off, for 
in the midst of a most eloquent sentence, when 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 69 

talking of apostolical succession, and the bread of 
life^ and the body of our Lord^ etc., an aged 
woman that I had scarcely observed before, who 
was sitting on a stool in the chimney corner, lifted 
up her trembling voice and gave me such a terri- 
ble dressing that I wished myself anywhere else* 
^What!' said she, ^you talk of Apostolic succes- 
sion! and where is your succession? Who or- 
dained you and your bishop, and the first bishop 
of your church? If the Catholic Church, then 
you have shown yourselves by your rebellion and 
ingratitude the disgrace of your mother and un- 
worthy of her. If not the Catholic Church, then 
you are usurpers and impostors, and you deceive 
and lead astray your flocks, and you will have to 
answer for their souls. Sacraments ! Where are 
your Sacraments? Where your right to admin- 
ister them?' etc., etc., etc. I was dumb and could 
not answer. I stammered out something, how- 
ever, and retired, and soon after I resigned my 
charge and retired from the duties of a parish, and 
though often solicited, never accepted another." 
It was during Mr. Haskins' stay in Providence 



70 GLIMPSES OF THE 

that, in company with his cousin, Rev. Mr. Fox- 
croft, he paid his second visit to Father Wiley, 
then residing in Taunton, Mass., and the earnest 
and learned conversation of this holy priest sank 
deep into his heart. 

Having declined the pastorate of Grace Church, 
Mr. Haskins returned to his native city, and was 
appointed Chaplain to the House of Reformation, 
which position he retained to 1836. During the 
next few years he filled several offices of trust in 
Boston. 

An entry in his diary dated January 4, 1837, 
which reads: '^Administered communion for the 
last time as a Protestant, having resolved to do so 
no more, till I have settled certain religious scru- 
ples," shows that his mind was still unsettled in 
religious matters, and that the good seed was 
taking root, and in due time would bear fruit. 
This year (1837) he was unanimously elected 
Superintendent of the House of Reformation, and, 
upon his informing the Directors of his religious 
oj)inions, his diary says: "They treated me with 
the utmost kindness and politeness." 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 7I 

Mr. Haskins surrendered his ministry in the 
Protestant Church into the hands of Bishop Gris- 
wold in January, 1839, ^"^ ^^ ^^^ following May 
was re-elected Superintendent of the House of 
Reformation. Again he referred to his religious 
opinions, and was answered by a (at that time) 
well-known member of the Board of Directors : 
"We don't care if 3^ou are a Mohammedan, only 
don't teach the children to follow you." 

The following year he resigned his position, 
severed all the ties that held him to Protestantism, 
and went to Father Wiley's at Taunton, where 
after having made a spiritual retreat he made his 
abjuration and was received into the Catholic 
Church November, 1840. He shortly afterwards 
received his first communion, and was confirmed 
by Rt. Rev. Bishop Fenwick and left for Europe. 
He visited Rome and several other cities on the 
Continent, and finally entered the Seminary of 
St. Sulpice, in Paris. 

While in Rome he became acquainted with and 
was instrumental in the conversion of James R. 
Bayley, who entered St. Sulpice with him, and who 



72 GLIMPSES OF THE 

afterwards became Archbishop of BaUimore, Md., 
Mr. Haskins was also present in Rome when 
Rev. Alphonse Ratisbonne — the Jew who was 
miraculously converted by the Blessed Virgin, 
and who, after laboring most zealously for the 
conversion of his own race, has lately gone to 
his reward — made his first communion. This 
imposing event is beautifully described in Father 
Haskins' book of travels, a book which we regret 
to say is, to-day, almost as rare as it is well- 
written. 

Mr. Haskins remained at St. Sulpice about two 
years, and was ordained in the early part of 1844. 
He returned to Boston the same year, and on his 
arrival was sent to Providence, to relieve his spirit- 
ual parent. Father Wiley, whose health was de- 
clining, and who soon after went to Europe to 
recruit his strength. Nothing is more beautiful 
than the holy and tender friendship which united 
these two hearts, a friendship which lasted until 
death. A few of the many edifying letters which 
passed between these two holy priests, while they 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 73^ 

were separated by the mighty ocean, are still 
preserved. 

In 1846, Father Haskins was appointed Pastor 
of St. John's Church on Moon Street. Under 
his administration, the congregation, which had 
been in existence but three years, increased with 
extraordinary rapidity. The fact of his being 
well-known, even before his conversion, attracted 
large numbers of non-Catholics to the services 
every Sunday. Naturally of an energetic tem- 
perament, and ardently devoted to the service of 
God, he was a most important accession to the 
priesthood of Boston, and the work he accom- 
plished will ever keep his name in affectionate 
remembrance by the priests and people. 

As was stated previously. Father Haskins had 
a strong liking for children, and specially for the 
orphaned, destitute, and homeless ones, and as soon 
as he became a priest he devoted all his energies 
and the means at his command to the bettering of 
their condition. 

After consulting with his Bishop, who not only^ 
approved of his designs, but even urged him to 



74 



GLIMPSES OF THE 



put them in execution, giving the Cathedral for 
the first collection in aid of the good work, 
Father Haskins gathered a few boys, and placed 
them under the care of Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius 
Murphy, in a small building adjoining the Church 
on Moon Street. 

This was the cradle of the House of the Angel 
Guardian, the first asylum for Catholic orphan 
boys in New England. 

The institution filled so rapidly, that, in 1853, 

he was obliged to purchase for it a larger estate ; 
this last becoming too contracted. Father Haskins 
purchased, in 1858, a piece of land in Roxbury, 
and erected the present building on Vernon Street, 
to which he transferred his boys in the fall of 
i860. 

It was about this time that Father Haskins was 
called upon to receive the last wishes of, and 
perform the last rites of the Church for, his 
reverend friend and spiritual father. Rev. William 
Wiley, who, having set his affairs in order, calmly 
€nded his holy life in the arms of his spiritual son 
in Christ, April 29, 1855. 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 75 

During all these years, the congregation of St. 
John's (thanks to the energy and vigilance of the 
pastor) had continued to increase ; and the church 
on Moon Street had become too small to contain 
those who worshipped there. 

In 1862, the New Old North Meeting-house, 
corner Hanover and Clark Streets, was purchased, 
and dedicated under the patronage of St. Stephen, 
November 27, of the same year. The dedication 
was performed by the present Archbishop of 
Boston, w^ho was then Vicar-general of the dio- 
cese. 

To this church was transferred the congregation 
of St. John's ; and here Father Haskins continued 
to labor, with his usual zeal and activity, until his 
death in 1872. 

He also ministered to the congregation of St. 
Francis de Sales, who attended the chapel of the 
House of the Angel Guardian, after the old 
church on Ruggles Street was burned, until they, 
by his advice, decided to erect another church. 
As soon, however, as the first steps in the w^ork 



76 GLIMPSES OF THE 

were taken, he was relieved by Father Sherwood 
Healy (1867). 

The last years of Father Haskins' laborious life 
were in great part devoted to the permanent estab- 
lishment of the Institution he had founded, and 
the reduction of the great debt which pressed so 
heavily upon it. This he partly succeeded in 
doing, having reduced it from sixty thousand dol- 
lars to thirty thousand dollars in twelve years. 

His most ardent desire was to see the ''House" 
in the hands of a religious community ; to effect 
this, he made a voyage to Europe, and another to 
Canada, to obtain Brothers ; but he only obtained 
promises, which were not fulfilled until nearly 
two years after his death. 

In 1872 he suffered greatly from dropsy and 
enlargement of the liver ; and, feeling his end 
approaching, retired to his beloved House of the 
Angel Guardian, where, after regulating his 
worldly affairs, and receiving the sacraments of 
Holy Church, he calmly surrendered his soul to 
God, Saturday evening, October 5, 1872. Thus 
ended the life of a great and good man, who, ever 




House of the Angel Guardian. 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 77 

modest and unostentatious, had even requested 
that no sermon should be delivered at his funeral ; 
desiring the prayers, but not the praise, of the 
people among and for whom he had so arduously 
labored. However, the crowds that visited his 
remains as they lay in state in St. Stephen's 
Church, the numerous clergy who attended the 
funeral services, and the large cortege that fol- 
lowed him to his last resting-place, more than 
expressed the esteem and veneration in which he 
was held ; and the great charity that he founded 
will ev r keep his memory fresh in the minds and 
hearts of the Catholics of Boston. 

But it is not so much with the founder of this 
institution, of whom a great deal is already known, 
this narrative is concerned, as with the Brothers of 
Charity who have conducted the institution for the 
past twenty years. Indeed, one of the objects of this 
sketch is to correct a false idea existing in the minds 
of many Catholics of New England, namely, that 
when the saintly Father Haskins died his work 
and institution died with him. The truth is, that 



78 GI.IMPSES OF THE 

it is only since his death, that his plans have been 
carried out to completion. 

We read in the biography of Father Haskins, of 
his trip to Europe to secure a community of Broth- 
ers, to take charge of the institution he had found- 
ed. But he was refused on account of the great 
want of subjects, which was sorely felt in all com- 
munities at that time. As soon as he learned that 
there was a congregation of religious in Montreal, 
who bore the title of Brothers of Charity, he made 
his way thither, and on the i8th of October, 1865, 
made an application for a colony of these good 
Brothers to come to Boston and take charge of The 
House of The Angel Guardian. Notwithstanding 
his earnest appeal, he was again refused, and the 
same excuse was put forward, " scarcity of 
subjects. " It was not until January 27th, 1874, 
after his death, that a colony of six Brothers came 
to Boston to continue the good work, of which he 
had laid the foundation. 

On that January morning the costly church of 
Notre Dame, in Montreal, was resounding with 
words of burning eloquence from some distin- 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 79 

guished preacher, portraying God's love for man ;. 
the saintly Bishop of that city was engaged in 
sublime contemplation ; the faithful in its many 
beautiful churches and chapels, with hands up- 
lifted, adored the Greater of this vast universe, and 
offered Him the incense of devout and ardent 
prayer ; this was the scene these six good Brothers 
had left behind them, to labor and endure hard- 
ships in a new land, and among a strange people. 
Might not the most heroic heart have shrunk from 
such a task without being accused of cowardice? 
The bravest and greatest men who have at any time 
forsaken their homes, for some noble cause, have 
often looked back with tearful eyes when they 
recalled the cheerful hearth, the cherished friends 
they had forsaken. No one need wonder, then, 
if these six noble souls had cast a wistful glance 
on their dear Ganadian home, where they had 
enjoyed, I might say, the luxuries of religion ; 
but no feeling of sadness or fear of disappointment 
disturbed their peace of mind — and why? Be- 
cause they placed their trust entirely in the good- 



So GLIMPSES OF THE 

ness of God, in him, also, who was appointed to 
be their guide, to be their father. 

They knew full well the ability of Brother 
Justinian, whom we shall now introduce as the 
first Superior of the Brothers of Charity in Boston. 
They had known of the sanctity of this Brother 
^ince the day he bade farewell to his dear home, 
in that quaint old province of Belgium called 
L.imburg. They knew his tried and solid virtue, 
based on deep and genuine humility ; and to his 
wise guidance they intrusted their future and the 
work they were called to do. 

Brother Justinian was no ordinary man. His 
name is held in benediction even to this day by 
many of the clergy and people of New England. 
He was a tireless worker in the vineyard of his 
Master, and the obliterating wave of time has 
never wiped away from the minds of the people 
the great good he effected during his administra- 
tion. From out the shadows of the past Brother 
Justinian's character glows with a most beautiful 
light. He was a man who had received the 
benediction of hard work. Incessantly busy in 




Brother Justinian 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 8l 

the laudable cause of the institution he was called 
to govern, he allowed himself very little time for 
recreation. His noble soul was like a gigantic 
tree growing in the midst of a great desert, where 
the weary and heart-stricken came to find shelter 
from a cruel and censorious world. His life had 
in it no notes of discord, but was itself a perfect 
harmony, awakening sweet melodies that drew all 
who came in contact with him nearer to God and 
farther away from sin. His influence was exerted 
not by words alone, but by the silent force of the 
example of his most saintly life. 

Out of regions other than earth came the great 
shaping forces of his character, and by powers 
other than the love of fame did he gain mastery 
over the hearts of all. The great lesson of his 
life is the witness it bore to the reality of the 
Divine Savior — Christ. His ready sympathy 
brought him not only into pleasant relations, but 
into community of interest and feeling with every 
one who came in contact with him. He was the 
nearest friend to the orphan and friendless boys. 
They recognized the child-heart beneath his manly 



82 GLIMPSES OF THE 

frame. The erring one was none the less a creat- 
ure of his solicitude, and with his lofty standard 
of purity and righteousness, he brought the wan- 
derer back to the path that leads to God. All 
seemed to see in him the presence of a divine life. 

Years passed on peacefully but not unevent- 
fully. The institution prospered. The year 1878 
brought a change to the institution. Brother Jus- 
tinian, whose work in Boston had won the admir- 
ation of his superiors abroad, was now to be 
promoted to the office of Provincial of the Ameri- 
can Province. This, of course, would necessitate 
his changing his home from that of the Angel 
Guardian Institution to the mother-house of the 
Province at Montreal. To this new field of labor, 
as tiresome as it was novel, Brother Justinian 
applied himself with his usual ardor. 

His love for the House of the Angel Guardian 
and all its associations was in no way lessened. 
Notwithstanding his many duties, he never forgot 
his dear Boston home. He often referred to it 
with words of affection, and watched with interest 
its advancement. 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 83 

Before we go further with our narrative, we 
will tarry a few moments to hear what remains to 
be told of the life of dear Brother Justinian. For 
twelve years he filled the office of Provincial. 
The many trials the Brothers had undergone to 
establish themselves on this side of the Atlantic 
were over. The various houses of the Congrega- 
tion were now in a flourishing condition, when 
lo ! a cloud darker than any yet that had hovered 
over the young Province, descended and enveloped 
its members in feelings of the most poignant grief. 
God asked the life of Brother Justinian. It re- 
quired strength and extraordinary courage for the 
members of the community to look this trial in the 
face and say: "Thy will, O God, be done." But 
the patient sufferer, bright and cheerful, willingly 
uttered these beautiful words of reconciliation, and 
tranquilly awaited the Master's call. 

God seemed to have given him the highest favor 
he can bestow upon his creatures — a vocation to 
suffer ; through all he bore up courageously and 
cheerfully. Each day he grew weaker and 
weaker. It became apparent that the end was 



84 GLIMPSES OF THE 

Hearing. The last sacraments were administered. 
The Brothers gathered at the bedside and gazed 
upon him who had been their father and guide 
through many years of trial and hardship. 

The twilight of April 16, 1870, waned into 
darkness, and yet the saintly sufferer lay there. 
A rapid waning of strength told the good Brothers 
that the soul must soon leave its prison house. 
Finally there was a sigh, a groan, a last look of 
affection, and the great soul of Brother Justinian 
was with its God; called "to where beyond these 
voices there is peace." 

His inconsolable brethren bent over that pros- 
trate form and longed to hear once more his 
voice. But those lips that had so often spoken 
to them words of encouragement when they were 
disheartened — lips that had so often pointed out 
the path of duty — were now hushed forever. The 
light had gone from their pathway, the music of 
their home was hushed. If they gave way to the 
sadness of the hour it was because they were 
weighed down with a remembrance of those trials 
through which the young American Province had 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 85 

passed, and of the great fight with discourage- 
ment, in which he who had died had led them 
to victory and healed them of their hurts by his 
own courage and sight of the peace to come. 

Clothed in his humble religious habit, reverently 
and lovingly the mortal remains of Brother Justin- 
ian were placed on a couch draped in white. At 
his head stood a little stand, on which were a 
large crucifix and two lighted wax tapers, whose 
gentle, gleaming light shone on the serene face, 
now cold in death. For two sad days and nights 
the Brothers clustered around their beloved Supe- 
rior, but even this sad privilege soon had to be 
relinquished. No sound, save the solemn chant 
of the Brothers, broke the profound stillness of 
the convent as the mortal remains of Brother Jus- 
tinian were lovingly and mournfully consigned to 
their place in the Brothers' vault. There they laid 
him, far away from his dear old home in distant 
Belgium, to await the resurrection morn. 



86 GLIMPSES OF THE 




CHAPTER V. 

Rt. Rev. J. B. Fitzpatrick, First President of Trustees 
OF the House of The Angel Guardian — Most Rev. 
J. J. Williams, Second President — Rev. M. P. Dough- 
erty, First Secretary of the House of the Angel 
Guardian. 

John Bernard Fitzpatrick was born at Boston, 
November i, 1812. The education of John Ber- 
nard was commenced at home, under the instruc- 
tion of his honest and virtuous parents. That 
home was not only a school for the mind, but it 
was also a temple for the soul, where good 
parental example and early religious inculcation 
made a lasting impression upon the young mem- 
bers of that happy household. The first lessons 
in secular learning that he received outside of his 
own family were imparted in the primary and 




Rt. Rev. Bishop Fitzpatrick. 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 87 

grammar schools of Boston, in which he greatly 
distinguished himself, and gave proofs of his 
future eminence. He received the Franklin med- 
als as the reward of his assiduity and good con- 
duct. In 1826 he entered the Boston Latin 
School, from which he graduated with the highest 
honors, leaving after him the reputation of a 
model student, a favorite companion, and an 
exemplar of Christian youth. Between his teach- 
ers and young Fitzpatrick was maintained a life- 
long friendship. In the midst of elements most 
hostile to his faith and Church, he clung to these 
with unwavering fidelity and love. The eye of 
the venerable Bishop Fenwick soon perceived the 
treasure which the Church possessed in young 
Fitzpatrick, whose noble bearing and solid virtues 
attracted his attention, gained his confidence, and 
won his affection. Under the advice and patron- 
age of the bishop, he took leave of his family 
and friends, and, at the age of seventeen, entered 
Montreal College, in September, 1829. Here he 
made a thorough course of classical studies, with 
honor and distinction. His deportment was edify- 



88 GLIMPSES OF THE 

ing, and his life pure ; his piety and love of 
virtue became the admiration of all. In 1837, 
having finished his course at Montreal, his supe- 
riors determined to send him to the Seminary of 
St. Sulpice, at Paris, the nursery of profound 
learning and exalted virtues. Here in the midst 
of two hundred students, the flower of France 
and of Europe, the American levite soon became 
conspicuous, and in less than a year was regarded 
as the ornament of the seminary. The venerable 
superior of the Sulpitians then' predicted that 
young Fitzpatrick would one day rise, to high 
position in the Church, and become an ornament 
to its hierarchy. His studies completed, he was 
now ripe for the holy calling which had been 
the great object of his life, studies, prayers, and 
discipline. He was accordingly promoted to the 
holy priesthood June 13, 1840, at the age of 
twenty-seven. In November, 1840, he returned 
to Boston, the chosen field of his labors. His 
first mission was at the Cathedral. Here he 
devoted himself to hearing confessions ; instruct- 
ing children, the poor, and the ignorant in their 



BROTHERHOOD OF^ CHARITY 89- 

religious duties ; and in visiting the sick. After 
a year thus engaged, he was appointed pastor of 
East Cambridge. Here he soon raised a substan- 
tial stone church, in which his fervid eloquence 
and truly priestly life and labors accomplished 
much good. In 1844, the declining health of 
Bishop Fenwick, and the ever increasing labors 
of his arduous office, rendered it impossible for 
him to postpone longer the appointment of a 
coadjutor to assist him in his administration. The 
bishop's wishes were concurred in, and the priest 
of his choice was given him as his coadjutor and 
successor. He was consecrated at Georgetown, 
on Sunday, March 4, 1844, by Bishop Fenwick. 
On entering upon his new career, he commenced 
by prescribing rigid rules for his own conduct 
and management of affairs, which he carefully 
observed, and which guided him with remarkable 
safety and success through the many spiritual 
and temporal cares of his journey. He imme- 
diately took up his residence at the episcopal 
mansion in Franklin Street, and the old Cathedral 
became the field of his zealous toil. His sermons 



90 GLIMPSES OF THE 

were very impressive, eloquent, and convincing ; 
and were attended by a great number of Protest- 
ants, many of whom became converted to the 
faith. 

In 1846 the venerable Bishop Fenwick died; 
and thenceforth the whole responsibility of this 
diocese, embracing all New England, Rhode 
Island and Connecticut excepted, devolved upon 
Bishop Fitzpatrick. The cross which he em- 
braced now bore heavily upon his shoulders, 
with no one to share it but Him who bore it for 
us all. During years of single-handed labor, his 
heart was on many occasions afflicted. It was 
his lot in 1854 ^^ witness the blowing up of a 
church in course of erection at Dorchester by 
some unknown ruffians, and, in the same year, 
the burning of the church in Bath, the Know- 
nothing riot in Manchester, N. H., and the Ells- 
worth outrage. 

The most practical test of his labors and their 
results may be found in these simple facts : from 
two dioceses there are now seven ; from forty 
priests and as many churches in 1844, there were 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 9I 

at the time of his death three hundred priests and 
three hundred churches, more than one hundred 
of each being in the diocese of Boston alone. 
Though comparatively young when first attacked 
by the disease which finally caused his death, and 
frequently warned of the constant danger he was 
in, he continued his personal labors and exertions 
with unabated energy. He was frequently ad- 
vised by his friends and colleagues to relax his 
application to work ; but, as long as he was capa- 
ble of laboring, he never allowed himself rest. 
He discovered his error, alas I too late. His 
health grew daily more and more precarious. 
For many years before his death he was an in- 
valid and a great sufferer. In his solicitude for 
his flock, and in his desire to provide a father 
for them in case of his death, he gave his atten- 
tion to the important matter of selecting his suc- 
cessor. He fixed his choice upon the present 
distinguished prelate who occupies the archiepisco- 
pal see of Boston. During his eight years of 
pain and anguish, his people, who had so much 
admired him in health, now honored and vener- 



92 GLIMPSES OF THE 

ated more than ever the patient sufferer. As an 
evidence of his generous thoughtfulness for others, 
as well as his love for the land of his fathers, it 
is related of him, that while he was an exile from 
his diocese, in Europe, where he had gone in 
search of health a few years before his death, the 
famine broke out in Ireland ; his tender heart was 
melted at the sufferings of that woe-stricken peo-^ 
pie. "The wail of suffering reached his ear;" 
and immediately from his sick-bed he wrote to 
Boston a letter of affectionate entreaty, imploring 
his people to hasten to the relief of the famishing 
sons of St. Patrick. A beautiful trait of the 
bishop's character was a love of truth. His very 
countenance, his general bearing, his conversa- 
tion, all testified to the truth within him. The 
hypocrite and dissembler trembled in his presence, 
and dared not look him in the face. For the 
contrite wrong-doer he was full of compassion 
and forgiveness, but the deceiver he would never 
brook. His displeasure extended even to those 
who, to entertain company, invented stories or 
exaggerated facts ; and he usually manifested it 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 93 

by refusing to join in the laugh or by adroitly 
changing the current of conversation. There was 
no obscurity in his language or writings, because 
there was no duplicity in his heart. Strong faith 
and decision of character were prominent traits in 
the Bishop's character. His long illness and 
protracted sufferings only served to bring out 
with greater lustre his many exalted traits. His 
death was worthy of his life, — calm, resigned, 
devout, and noble to the last. On the Saturday 
before he died, raising high the hand that held 
the crucifix, he said: "The dark veil will soon 
be drawn from my eyes, as the gloomy winter 
passes before the spring ; I will follow the cross 
to the end." 

Bishop Fitzpatrick expired Tuesday, February 
13, 1866, in the fifty-fourth year of his age; and 
the Church mourned one of her most illustrious 
prelates, whose memory is in benediction. 



♦ > * < ♦ 



94 (tLimpses ok the 

Most Rev. J. J. Williams. 

For the greater part of the present inhabitants 
of Boston, Theatre Alley, once so famous, is only 
a memory, a thing of the past. To the Catholics 
of Boston it should be hallowed ground ; for here 
was born, April 27, 1822, the present Archbishop 
of Boston, J. J. Williams. 

At the age of four years he was placed at 
school, under the charge of Mrs. Newmarch. 
After two years, he was transferred to the school 
in the basement of the old Cathedral on Franklin 
Street, under the control of Rev. James Fitton. 
Though not distinguished by his talents, his early 
life at school manifested the dispositions, which 
grew with the man, and formed part of his being. 
Application and love of truth, hatred of sham, 
and self-sacrifice, were traits of his character 
from his earliest years, and make him to-day the 
beau-ideal prelate of America. 

While at this school he seemed to manifest a 
vocation for the sanctuary, and at the age of 
eleven he was sent to Montreal College, Canada, 
thenj as now, under the charge of the Society of 




Most Rev. John J. Williams, D.D, 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 95 

St. Sulpice. Here he remained eight years, a 
close student, beloved by all, teachers and stu- 
dents. In 1841 he went to France, and entered 
the Seminary of St. Sulpice, at Paris. Here in 
the capital of the world, in all that relates to art 
and science, he spent four years, a keen observer 
of men and events. Before his return to Boston, 
in 1845, he was ordained by Archbishop Affre, 
and assigned to the Cathedral, the Sunday school 
being placed under his special care. In 1855 he 
was made rector of the Cathedral, and a few years 
later Vicar-general of the diocese. 

During the long years of sickness that preceded 
the death of Bishop Fitzpatrick, Vicar-general 
Williams administered the affairs of the diocese 
with prudence and judgment. In matters of dis- 
pute, all looked to him, as certain to decide with 
fairness, and according to strict justice. Even 
the most intimate friends could not bias or warp 
his opinions. Favoritism, the curse of so many 
well-meaning men in power, has never been laid 
to his charge ; and, after twenty-seven years, it 
may be said of him, with truth, that he has 



96 GLIMPSES OF THE 

never willingly wronged any one in his episcopal 
administration. 

At the time of his consecration, the diocese of 
Boston included all the State of Massachusetts. 
Since then, the diocese of Springfield (including 
the counties of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, 
Hampden, and Worcester), and the diocese of 
Providence (including Bristol, Barnstable, and 
part of Plymouth counties), were created. 

To-day the Archdiocese of Boston has 170 
churches, 376 priests, and 30,000 children in the 
parochial schools. The churches throughout the 
<liocese are, for the most part, objects of pride to 
the Catholic heart, because of their beauty and 
•elegance. After years of patient struggle, their 
financial condition is such as to warrant the belief 
that before many years have passed they will be 
entirely relieved of the monster debt. Schools 
are multiplying every year. The sick, the orphan, 
and the outcast are provided for. While last, but 
not least, the new seminary at Brighton has 
already entered on its career of usefulness in 
preparing candidates for the work of ministry. 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY ^ 

This work has been for years the subject of the 
Archbishop's thoughts. Not a detail of its con- 
struction has escaped his notice ; and it stands 
to-day a monument to the zeal and piety of the 
clergy of Boston, their tribute of love and affec- 
tion to their well-beloved Archbishop. In the 
building of the Cathedral, he received valuable 
aid from the late Vicar-general P. F. Lyndon ; 
but the seminary is his own work, to which he 
has given his heart and brain. May he live to 
see his plans realized, and to know that he has 
established here, in his diocese, a system of 
ecclesiastical training and education second to 
none in the world ! And, when God calls him 
to receive his reward, may he depart this life 
with the consciousness that the tribunals of Rome 
have never been called upon to adjucate in any 
controversy or trial between him and his priests ! 



♦ > ? < ♦ 



98 GLIMPSES OF THE 

Rev. Manasses P. Dougherty. 

The Rev. Manasses P. Dougherty, who died 
pastor of St. Peter's Church, Cambridge, was one 
of the typical priests of New England, having 
been linked in ecclesiastical career with what 
may be termed the missionary days of the dio- 
cese, and having lived to witness the great devel- 
opment of Catholicity here, in which he was a 
zealous factor. 

He was born in Ireland, in 1816, and came to 
America at an early age. On August 28, 1842, 
he was ordained at the Sulpician Seminary, Mont- 
real, and having remained at that Institution until 
November 6th, same year, he began his priestly 
labors under Bishop Fenwick in the diocese of 
Boston. He was at once appointed to take charge 
of the mission at Benedicta Plantation, Aroostook 
County, Maine. The autograph copy of the let- 
ter from the Bishop giving him his commission, 
which bears date November 7, 1842, is still pre- 
served, and is an interesting souvenir. It opens 
by saying: "Your mission embraces the towns 
of Benedicta and Houlton and the country within 




Rev. Father Dougherty 



IJROTHERHOOD OP' CHARITY 99 

the limits of the United States adjacent to them. 
Your residence will be in Benedicta ; Houlton 
you will visit occasionally." The letter proceeds 
to give special instructions on the importance 
of counteracting intemperance by the promotion 
of temperance societies, and of catechizing the 
young. 

It appears that to make marriages legal, ac- 
cording to Maine laws, it was required that a 
clergyman should receive, at the discretion of 
the Governor, a State Commission ; and accord- 
ingly, Father Dougherty received from Governor 
Fairfield the necessary document, dated January 
2, 1843, in which he is referred to as worthy of 
''special trust and confidence, for sobriety, discre- 
tion, and piety." 

In May, 1844, after preparing for the founda- 
tion of churches at Houlton and Benedicta, he 
w^as transferred to St. John's Church, East Cam- 
bridge, Mass., and through his earnest efforts 
St. Peter's Church, Cambridge, was erected in 
1848, Father Dougherty becoming the successor 
to Bishop Fitzpatrick on his elevation to the 



lOO GLIMPSES OF THE 

Episcopate. The corner-stone of St. Peter's was 
laid by Bishop Fitzpatrick, on the 12th of July, 
1848. Divine service was conducted in the 
church the following year by Father Dougherty, 
who held its pastorate up to the time of his death. 
In the first year he baptized one hundred and 
thirty-five persons at St. Peter's. Being wholly 
occupied with the interests of this parish, he relin- 
quished St. John's. He left to his successors as 
one of the results of his efforts a commodious 
pastoral residence. Previous to the date of his 
building St. Peter's, his parish included old 
Cambridge, Cambridgeport, Somerville, Medford, 
Maiden, West Cambridge, and Lexington. He 
celebrated Mass once a fortnight in Medford, and 
once a week in Lexington. All the others at- 
tended Cambridge. In time there were churches 
built in Lexington and Medford. 

In the fall of 1859 Father Dougherty^s health 
being poor, his pastoral charge was for a time 
supplied by Rev. George F. Haskins, the beloved 
founder of the House of the Angel Guardian. 
On a certain evening during his illness. Father 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY lOI 

Haskins called to see him, and presented him 
with a note, saying: "The sexton of your church 
gave me this note for you this morning." Father 
Dougherty opened it, and to his astonishment 
found a thousand dollars sent to him as a present 
from the congregation of St. Peter's. He was 
advised by his physician to take a season of rest 
abroad, and on the 25th of July, i860, he received 
a letter from Bishop Fitzpatrick instructing him 
to do so. On the following Sunday he an- 
nounced to the congregation his purpose to visit 
Ireland. As an evidence of his popularity, it 
may be mentioned that the sum of five hundred 
dollars was promptly raised by seventeen young 
men of the parish, and a felicitous address was 
presented with it. On arrival in his native land, 
he received new greetings from clergy and laity, 
and was presented with an address of welcome 
to the parish of Donagh, signed by the pastor 
and prominent laymen. 

The increase of the Catholics of Cambridge 
made it necessary to have another church, and 
Father Dougherty took the necessary steps for 



I02 GLIMPSES OF THE 

the erection of St. Mary's Church, Cambridge- 
port, the corner-stone of which was laid July 15, 
1866. He continued the work until May, 1867, 
when the completion was undertaken by the 
present pastor, the Rev. Thomas Scully, the 
church being opened in 1868. In 1874 Father 
Dougherty organized a new parish in Cambridge 
under the name of St. Paul's, purchasing the 
church of the Congregational Society on the cor- 
ner of Mount Auburn and Holyoke Streets. 

He retained the pastorate of St. Paul's in addi- 
tion to St. Peter's until October i, 1874, when he 
was succeeded by the Rev. William Orr. In 
addition to the above he built the fine church 
which adorns the town of Arlington. 

Father Dougherty's work was everywhere char- 
acterized by zeal and devotion. He was generous 
and hospitable in a rare degree, and many who 
needed his aid will long remember the cheerful 
readiness with w^hich he tendered it. On one 
occasion he gave a check for $1000 to the Presi- 
dent of Boston College, enjoining at the same 
time strict secrecy as to the donor. He was one 



BROTHERHOOD OK CHARITY IO3 

of the first incorporators of the House of the 
Angel Guardian, and up to the time of his death 
was Secretary of the Board of Trustees. In all 
the trials and difficulties attendant upon the found- 
ation and government of so large an institution, 
Father Haskins had no truer friend nor wiser 
counsellor than Father Dougherty. To him the 
founder confided his cares and hopes, and from 
him never failed to receive the encouragement he 
needed. As an illustration of the prominent and 
esteemed position in which he was held in the 
estimation of the clergy, it may be stated that on 
various occasions when testimonials were pre- 
sented to the Bishop of the diocese on their be- 
half, he was always given a prominent part in 
representing them. 

His death took place July 25, 1877, in the sixty- 
first year of his age, and his funeral services, 
which occurred on the 27th, were attended by a 
remarkably large concourse of clergy and laity. 
An eloquent tribute to the beloved pastor was 
delivered by the Rev. Robert Fulton, S. J. In 
June, 1878, the Catholics of Cambridge gave evi- 



I04 GLIMPSES OF THE 

dence of their remembrance by the erection of a 
beautiful monument over his grave. Inscribed 
upon it are the words : " This monument was 
erected by the parishioners of St. Peter's Church 
in grateful remembrance of his long and devoted 
service as pastor in the vineyard of the Lord. 
Requiescat in Pace." 




Brother Hilduward, 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY I05 




CHAPTER VI. 

Election of Brother Hilduward to the Office of Pro-^ 
viNciAL — Continuation of the History of the House 
OF THE Angel Guardian — Election of Brother 
Wenceslaus — He is Transferred to Waterford, 
Ireland — Election of Brother Eusebius — Deatk 
OF Brother Eusebius. 

The human heart having once dwelt on the 
long sought heights of peacefulness and happi- 
ness, and being held there by the very fascina- 
tion of the moment, feels a pang when the drift 
of circumstances forces it to descend and take 
with the same accustomed grace, the ordinary 
tasks of life. Methinks there are few of us 
strong enough to visit the chamber of some loved 
one who has been swept away by the merciless- 
hand of death, without feeling emotions of inex- 
pressible sadness. But these were the emotions the 



J06 GLIMPSES OE THE 

good Brothers had to meet and suppress after the 
death of their beloved Superior. It was quite 
impossible for them at this moment to realize that 
his great fatherly presence was to be seen in 
their convent home no more ; that Brother Justin- 
ian was no longer in the world. With saddened 
hearts they began anew their various duties. They 
must try to forget their trouble and be reconciled 
to the will of Heaven. After a short respite the 
chapter assembled, and to the joy of all, the 
American Province had again a guide in the 
person of Brother Hilduward. 

Brother Hilduward is in every sense of the 
word a gentleman of the French type. Those 
who know him best love him most. His years of 
varied experience in all the w^orks embraced by 
the Congregation, combined with sound common 
sense and administrative ability, make him equal to 
the task imposed upon him. His position calls for 
powers of administration of the highest order ; and 
whilst his services are demanded by the Brothers 
in every difficulty, he administers the details of 
his position in a most efficient way. 




Brother Wenceslaus. 



BROTHERHOOD OF CIIARITV IO7 

Brother Hilduward has within him keen intelli- 
gence, bound up with a spiritual power that makes 
him "the right man in the right place." May 
he live long to guide the destiny of the American 
Province is the fervent wish and prayer of the 
writer. 

Having digressed from our narrative, we will 
now return to the Angel Guardian Home, and 
trace its history from the day Brother Justinian 
was elected Provincial to the present time. We 
said before that this new office obliged him to 
make his home at the Mother House in Montreal. 
A Superior had to be elected for the House of the 
Angel Guardian. 

Brother Wenceslaus was chosen to fill the vacant 
place. He took up the work just where Brother 
Justinian had left it. After filling the position for 
three years he was called by his Superior to gov^ 
ern a new institution at Waterford, Ireland. Dur- 
ing his administration at the House of the Angel 
Guardian, steady growth and success crowned the 
institution. 

Brother Eusebius, formerly the Provincial of the 



I08 GLIMPSES OF THE 

American Province, was elected as successor to 
Brother Wenceslaus at the House of the Angel 
Guardian. The following notice of his sudden 
death, as chronicled in one of the local papers 
of Montreal, shows the great worth of the man, 
and the esteem in which he was held by all 
classes : 

A Laborious Career Closed. Death of 
Brother Eusebius, of Montreal. 

A long life, eminent for its usefulness in the 
service of the poor and the afflicted, terminated in 
Montreal, July 28th, with the death of Brother 
Eusebius, Superior of the Brothers of Charity in 
charge of the St. Benoit-Joseph Asylum at Longue 
Pointe, P. Q^ Recovering from an indisposition 
which had seized him while returning from a trip 
to St. Ferdinand, Halifax, on the 25th, he had 
made preparations for a voyage to Europe by the 
next steamboat. On the morning assigned for his 
departure it was noticed that he did not appear 
as early as usual, and a Brother was sent to his 
room to ascertain if he needed anything. No 




Brother Eusebius. 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY IO9 

answer having been returned to his knock, the 
Brother entered and found Brother Eusebius 
dressed, having risen from bed to add another day 
to the long bead-string of his unselfish life, but 
seated in a chair, with his head a little inclined to 
one side, as if sleeping. The messenger noise- 
lessly retired, and returning to those who had 
sent him, reported that Brother Eusebius was 
sleeping in his chair. This was deemed improb- 
able, and he was sent back to make a closer 
observation. It was then discovered that the tire- 
less laborer was truly sleeping, but it was the 
sleep that knows no waking. 

The deceased Brother's name in the world was 
Eusebe de Poorter. He was born in Ypres, Bel- 
gium, March 17, 1817, of noble parentage. On 
March 27, 1842, he entered the Brotherhood of 
Charity, making his profession August 14, 1843. 
Within a comparatively brief space of time he 
was appointed successively Superior of Houses in 
Louvain, Bruges, and Ghent. He received an 
equal vote with another member of the Congre- 
gation for the office of Superior-General in 1862. 



no GLIMPSES OF THE 

Accompanied by Brothers Sebastian, Edmond, 
and Linus, he came to Canada in 1865, establish- 
ing the first mission of his order in St. Anthony's 
Asylum, Montreal. In 1873 the Canadian gov- 
ernment found that they could not do better than 
to give the custody of the Montreal reformatory 
for juvenile delinquents, now the model institution 
of its class in North America, to Brother Eusebius 
and his brethren. It was from here that, in 1874, 
by the invitation of the Most Rev. Archbishop Wil- 
liams, he sent a number of Brothers to take charge 
of the House of the Angel Guardian. He returned 
to his native land in 1880, where, for two years, 
he was assistant Superior in one of the Parent 
Houses ; after which he came to Boston and 
earned the esteem of clergy and laity by his 
admirable management of the House of the Angel 
Guardian. Fresh pioneer work was found for 
him in 1884, at St. Anthony's Orphan Asylum, 
Detroit, Michigan, where he, with six other mem- 
bers of the order, succeeded the Franciscan Broth- 
ers. Having established the affairs of this insti- 
tution upon a firm basis, he was finally assigned 



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BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY III 

to the Brothers' great asylum for epileptics and the 
insane, at Longue Pointe, P. Q^., which he directed 
until his death. 

The place in the Lord's vineyard left vacant by 
the decease of Brother Eusebius will not easily be 
filled. His loss will be felt by the entire Province 
of Quebec, which was the field of the greater part 
of his labors. The Reformatory of Montreal, 
which may be said to have been created by Brother 
Eusebius, is a blessing by which all Canada has 
been benefited. Loved and esteemed by those 
confided to his guidance, he had the unlimited 
confidence of his superiors, who relied on him for 
the performance of work demanding tact, business 
knowledge, and special powers of administrative 
ability. The sudden termination of his life was 
the result of heart disease, and was in accordance 
with his expectation for years. It found him 
prepared, both spiritually and temporally. On 
July 30, after a Solemn Requiem High Mass in 
the Montreal Reformatory, attended by a large 
number of priests and other friends, his remains 



112 GLIMPSES OF THE 

were borne to the crypt beneath, and finally laid to 
rest. 



Brother Joseph was the next into whose hands 
the reins -of government fell. On April 24, 1884, 
he entered into his new office. He was a man 
filled with the spirit of his vocation, and was 
beloved by all who knew him. He filled the 
office of Superior for five years, and was then 
called to the reward of his labors by the Divine 
Master, in whose vineyard he labored so long and 
zealously. The following account of his death 
appeared in the "Orphans' Friend" of that year: 

Death of Brother Joseph. 

"In the midst of life we are in death." The full 
significance of these words was realized by every 
inmate of the House of the *Angel Guardian on the 
8th of September last. In the morning Brother 
Joseph attended Mass in the chapel, receiving holy 
communion as usual. Subsequently he breakfasted 
with the community, and was afterwards met in 
various parts of the House. At dinner he was 




Brother Joseph 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY I13 

missed from the table, and a Brother was sent to 
the infirmary to inquire if he desired to have the 
meal served there. Words fail to convey an idea 
of the shock received by Brother Jude and the 
other members of the community when the mes- 
senger announced that Brother Joseph was dead. 

For years previously Brother Joseph's life was 
that of a martyr. He suffered untold agony from 
an incurable abscess ; yet, until within a few 
months back, he went about performing his full 
duties with a smiling countenance, and without 
complaint. At length, in June last, he was obliged 
to place himself under treatment in Carney Hos- 
pital, whence, after a stay of four weeks, he 
returned much improved, but under orders to 
refrain from all active occupation. Except for this 
affliction, greatly aggravated by a hereditary cor- 
pulence, he was a healthy man, so that his death, 
caused by the rupture of a blood-vessel, was un- 
expected by all who knew him. 

Brother Joseph, whose baptismal name was 
Onezime Hamel, was born in Quebec, March 29, 
1844, and became a Brother of Charity October 



iH 



GLIMPSES OF THE 



27, 1866. On April 24, 1884, he succeeded 
Brother Eusebius as Superior of the community 
in the House of the Angel Guardian, in which 
office, by his unfailing courtesy and zeal for the 
mission of the Institution, he won the esteem of 
all with whom he had relations. His chief work 
in the House was its enlargement two years ago 
by the addition of a new wing. But a better 
memorial of his beneficent life, is the love of the 
hundreds of boys who now mourn his loss. The 
body, in care of Provincial Justinian, was con- 
veyed to Montreal, and was interred in the ceme- 
tery of the Congregation, September nth. May 
he rest in peace ! 



The following account of the Industrial School 
was published in a Boston journal dated June the 
4th, 1891. It will give the reader an idea of the 
beginning of the great work : 

The Industrial School of the House of 

The Angel Guardian. 
At last the trade school of the House of The 
Angel Guardian is finished. It was practically 




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BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY II5 

completed May 20, when the trade departments, 
already in operation, began to move into it. Its 
exterior, as viewed from Ruggles Street, on which 
it fronts, or from Westminster Street, which ter- 
minates right opposite, is not imposing. It is not 
a ^^ palace of industry;" but it is neat, while being 
modest. 

Within there is ample space for all the purposes 
at present contemplated. As stated in previous 
accounts, the basement, with cemented floor, is 
occupied by the bakery and press room. The 
pressman. Brother Peter, and his assistants, re- 
joice with feelings too intense for expression at 
their removal from the temporary quarters. Three 
presses are in operation ; one for newspaper and 
book-work, and two for job printing. There is 
also a 30-inch paper cutter. All are driven by 
an Edison electric motor of 3-horse power, sup- 
plied by the Suburban Electric Light Company, 
with a current of 5000 volts. The oven and other 
apparatus of the bakery are constructed on the 
most improved models. 

On the next floor, right above the press room, 



Il6 GLIMPSES OF THE 

is the composing room, supplied abundantly with 
shelves and closets. An office for the proof- 
reader, enclosed by partitions half of ornamental 
wire-work and half of varnished wood, occupies 
one corner. Opposite is the business office, occu- 
pying a small ell attached to the front of the 
building. In the main room are compositors' 
stands and cases for a dozen or more type-setters, 
arranged beside the broad rear windows ; a job 
cabinet, three imposing stones, proof press, galley 
and lead racks, card and lead cutters, and other 
printers' tools too numerous to mention. The work 
comprises job, newspaper, and book printing. 

On the other side of the main entry, but upon 
the same floor, is the shoe shop, of rather limited 
dimensions at present, but adequate for all needs 
as far as they can be now foreseen, besides offices 
for the Brother superintending and the door- 
keeper. 

The tailors are airily located in a commodious 
room on the top floor, immediately above the shoe 
shop. The rest of the floor is designed to serve 




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BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY II7 

as a reading room for the working boys, but for 
the present it will be used for storage. 

All the shops are under the direct supervision 
of the Brothers, one or more of whom is always 
in attendance ; but the instructors in the various 
trades are laymen. 

So far, the printing office is the most developed 
of all departments. Ten boys are working at the 
cases, three or four showing marked progress for 
the short time they have been learning the trade ; 
while three lads are employed in the press room, 
two of whom are already experts in running the 
job presses, and are accomplished feeders for the 
cylinder press. Besides "The Orphan's Friend'* 
and "The Bouquet," both of which speak for 
themselves, some good work has been put out by 
the office in the form of business cards, hand- 
bills, bill-heads, advertising programmes, and 
society lists. 

Very little less is the progress shown by the 
tailors. Two classes are made in this trade. The 
first one, whose chief work is repairing, and in 
which general sewing is taught, remains in the 



Il8 • GLIMPSES OF THE 

old quarters in the main building. The new shop 
is devoted entirely to the advanced class, compris- 
ing ten boys, each able to sew satisfactorily an 
entire suit of clothes, and now receiving instruc- 
tion in fitting and cutting. 

Shoemaking comes next in the order of pro- 
gress. In this department is done all the repair- 
ing needed by the institution. Hand-sewed and 
machine-sewed shoes of the best finish are like- 
wise made here. So far, however, the orders 
are not sufficient to occupy more than two boys 
beside the foreman. It is, however, expected that 
there will soon be a sufficiency of work to employ 
ten or a dozen boys in this department. 

This trade school supplies a want long felt by 
the institution. The best efforts of its directors 
to give the orphan boys committed to their charge 
a fair start in life have often failed because of the 
boys' inability to help themselves. After this, 
lads who have completed the two years' course 
of instruction in this school, however friendless 
they may be, when leaving the institution will 
carry with them a knowledge w^hich will always 




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BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY II9 

enable them to make an honest livelihood. It is 
not too much to say that thereby the usefulness of 
the House will be increased four-fold. 

The work should enlist the sympathy and aid, 
not only of the Catholic community, but of all 
lovers of humanity or social order. It is a charity 
of the highest benevolence, and it offers a channel 
for the performance of a duty dictated by every 
feeling of our nature, as by our w^isest sense 
of self-interest. In the words of Brother Jude, 
to erect this school, "the first cent was bor- 
rowed," increasing the debt on the institution to 
$30,000 ; but few will say that in this case the 
end did not justify the means. The expense 
cannot fail to prove a trifle compared to the 
advantages secured to the community, and it is 
confidently anticipated that the generosity which 
has heretofore maintained the institution, will need 
no further stimulus than the w^ork itself to make 
it a complete and creditable success. 



Since the publication of this article the Indus- 
trial School has been enlarged and improved to 



I20 GLIMPSES OF THE 

such an extent that this description does no longer 
give it a true portrayal. In the press room there 
are now nine presses, which keep a number of 
boys constantly employed. In the composing 
room twent}^ boys are kept busily at work. The 
other departments have undergone similar im- 
provements. 



Admirable Work of the Brothers of 
Charity. 

As the problem of managing and training way- 
ward boys, or those that become a care upon the 
public, is a perplexity to our civil authorities, it 
may be of interest to note a visit to an institution 
in Canada, where the diverse difficulties are over- 
come. It is the Reform School of the Brothers 
of Charity of Montreal, in which the Government 
of the Province of Quebec has placed w^ayward 
boys for training and reformation, as sentenced 
by the courts. 

The visitor is surprised from the first entrance 
with the sense of order and quiet which prevails, 
and soon finds that here he is in the presence of 



> 




BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 121 

discipline that is effectual without rigor, and firm 
without harshness. Here are hundreds of boys 
from the smallest to the largest, most of whom 
were committed to the Brothers because unman- 
ageable either by parental or local authority, and 
yet all in ready and apparently cheerful submis- 
sion to the rules and work ; all appropriately 
classified according to age, disposition, training,, 
and other conditions. The smaller boys are busily 
engrossed with their studies in the school rooms, 
and the larger ones are occupied at certain hours 
in learning and practising various trades, includ- 
ing carpentry, shoemaking, carriage making, 
blacksmithing, and painting. That this work is- 
genuine and productive, is evidenced by the bulk 
and value of its results, which are in active de-- 
mand among traders throughout the Province, 
owing to the thoroughness and durability of work- 
manship. Each of the rooms is occupied by one 
or more of the Brothers of Charity, whose pres- 
ence without any apparent effort, commands re- 
spectful attention and quiet. This is not by any 
means a prison, though embracing so many who 



122 GLIMPSES OF THE 

should have been committed to prison but for its 
beneficent influence, and the entire stress of the 
restraining and reforming work is based upon 
religious means. The arrangements for the clean- 
liness, decency, and healthful condition of the 
inmates are manifest, especially in the dormitories, 
bath, and dining rooms for the boys. Everything 
is conducted with a rigid regard for decorum, and 
the attention of the Brothers in these particulars 
illustrates the saying that "eternal vigilance is the 
price of freedom." It is in the chapel that the 
highest moral effect of the Brothers' influence is 
felt ; and when the devoted members of the 
Society are congregated on a Sunday, with all 
the inmates of the adopted family, and hundreds 
of fresh and resonant voices are chanting hymns 
in unison, one can well imagine himself in the 
midst of a strictly religious community. Prob- 
ably nowhere on this continent is religion more 
zealously enlisted in the work of saving and train- 
ing boys than under the Brothers of Charity, and 
nowhere are its fruits more pleasing and salutary. 




Brother Jude. 

Present Superior of the House of the Angel Guardian. 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 



123 




CHAPTER VIi; 

Election of Brother Jude, Present Superior — The 
Rapid Advancement of the House of The Angel 
Guardian — The Amount of Good Being Done in 
the Cause of Orphanage. 

Those who have followed us thus far in our 
narrative, will no doubt have some faint idea 
of the House of The Angel Guardian and its 
work. It will be noticed that each of the Supe- 
riors of the Institution did his share to bring about 
the grand results we enjoy to-day. But the Insti- 
tution nor its works never reached the fulness of 
completion until the Chapter elected Brother Jude, 
the present Superior, as successor to Brother 
Joseph. From the very day he was commanded 
by his Superior to take upon himself this grave 
responsibility, he has been the pivot upon which 



124 GLIMPSES OF THE 

the affairs of the growing Institution have turned. 
Among the Superiors of the House of The Angel 
Guardian his name must stand pre-eminent. He 
has the attributes of mind that peculiarly fit him 
for leadership — purity of intention and indomit- 
able will. Straightforward in purpose, never 
vacillating, he has a clear understanding of duty, 
and performs it most faithfully. He has shown 
from the beginning a wonderful talent for admin- 
istration. But it is not on this account that the 
hearts of the many friends of the Institution go 
out to him in love and reverence. It is rather 
because there is seen in his every word and act 
purity of intention and love of God. It is impos* 
sible to estimate the good he has accomplished 
during his administration. 

An Industrial School for the boys was the first 
great work he undertook. He had the project 
long in mind, but as the necessary means were 
not forthcoming, he started out with the little he 
had at hand, and established a printing depart- 
ment in a small building that had been used as a 
stable. With the printing department he estab- 




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BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY I 25 

lished a small eight page weekly, titled "The 
Orphan's Bouquet." To carry on the work suc- 
cessfully it was evident that a more commodious 
building was necessary, and venturing still fur- 
ther, the good Brother, trusting upon Divine 
Providence, laid the foundation of a new building 
on Ruggles Street, which was completed May 20, 
1891. To this the printing department was re- 
moved, and a tailor's shop and bakery were 
added. 

This involved the Superior in a debt of several 
thousand dollars. The prospects were rather dark 
and the financial emergencies pressing, when sud- 
denly the little weekly journal took a start and 
made its way through the entire country. Its list 
of subscribers swelled high, and in one year the 
paper was increased from eight to sixteen pages, 
and, later on, to twenty pages, the subscription 
list swelling to ten thousand. The journal can 
now take its place among the best literary publi- 
cations in the land. It has become an ideal family 
story paper, and has among its contributors some 
of the ablest Catholic wTiters of the day. Bishops 



126 GLIMPSES OF THE 

and clergy have given it their warmest support 
and sanction. Thus has God w^atched over the 
progress of the work of Brother Jude ; and its 
almost miraculous advancement shows beyond a 
doubt that the protecting hand of Divine Provi- 
dence is guiding it on to accomplish greater 
things. 

Nowhere is Brother Jude more highly esteemed 
and loved than in the Institution over which he 
presides. He is the sunshine of the home ; a 
power in a place where his penetrating eye can 
see what is needful to mold the characters of those 
boys placed under his charge, who have reached 
a time of life when their minds are impressionable 
and easily turned one way or the other. 

It is a source of great gratification to those con- 
nected with the Institution that the health of the 
good Superior remains so well, notwithstanding 
the many cares and anxieties that tax his strength. 
While he is at the helm to guide the work of the 
House of The Angel Guardian we can expect to 
see wonderful things accomplished in the way of 
alleviating misery and distress. 




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BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 12*J 

The love uniting the Brothers and boys of the 
Institution to Brother Jude is strikingly manifested 
in the following account of one of his feast-day 
celebrations. It shows their respect for authority, 
and their deep love for their beloved Superior : 

The Orphans' Tribute to Brother Jude on 
His Patronal Feast. 

BY T. A. DWYER, A. B. 



Namesake of him whose zeal for Christ, 
And scorn of all this world's renown, 

In God's own chosen time, sufficed 
To merit him a martyr's crown. 

Behold ! once more the circling jear 
Brings back thy blessed Patron's feast, 

And finds thy children gathered here 
With filial love for thee increased. 

And strange it were, in sooth, if love 
For thee we lacked, dear Brother Jude, 

Whose lot it has been long to prove 
Thy vigilant solicitude. 

Here shielded from all want and woe. 
And trained alike in mind and heart. 

To thee and to thy care we owe 

The blessings whereof we have part. 



128 GLIMPSES OF THE 

What shall we wish thee, then, to-day? 

Ah ! if our wishes. Brother Jude, 
Could bring thee all our hearts would say, 

Thou had'st of joys a plenitude. 

Long years of blissful days be thine 
And strength to do the Master's will, 

And when thy faithful hands resign 
The work they now so well fulfil — 

May the great glory that he won 

The name which now is thine who bore, 

When thy life's labors here are done, 
Reward thy toil forevermore. 

We present here a letter written by a prominent 
lawyer in Boston, which testifies to the real, earn- 
est. Christian work the House of the Angel 
Guardian is constantly doing. 

Dear Brother Jude: — 

In reference to the boy I spoke to you about last 
night, I beg to say that to-day the matter came 
up for disposition, and the Court finally consented 
to impose a fine on him of six dollars. This very 
lenient action of the magistrate of course obviated 
the necessity of my asking you to add the respon- 
sibility of him to your already burdened shoulders. 

The cheerfulness you manifested in consenting 
to take him, if by the Court you were allowed so 




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BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY I 29 

to do, impels me to ask you, in behalf of the boy 
you so willingly consented to aid, free of charge^ 
to accept my warmest and most grateful acknowl- 
edgements. I sincerely trust the public may know 
more of the grand work being done by your Insti- 
tution, for I must admit that facts I learned by a 
personal visit to the Home have opened my eyes. 

If I can be of service any time do not hesitate 
to call on me. 

Wishing you God speed, I remain. 

Very sincerely yours. 



It would be impossible to enumerate here the 
number of boys that have been saved from a life 
of recklessness and sin by being harbored in the 
Institution. We rejoice to believe that there is 
still greater work for the Institution to do in the 
future than it has ever done in the past. 

There are orphans by the score 

In the village and the city ; 
Indigence knocks at our door, 

Hunger cries to us for pity ; 
And the sobs of pain and dearth 
Sadden half the songs of earth. 

As long as suffering, disappointment, effort, 
sorrow, and death shall exist in this world, the 



130 GLIMPSES OF THE 

affliction belonging to them shall also exist. The 
poor will be always with us. The following 
beautiful verses, published in "The Orphan's Bou- 
quet" of October i, 1891, clearly illustrate the 
great lesson the House of The Angel Guardian 
is teaching to the world : 

Not so great a truth He told 

As a mandate He appointed, 
Who, in Bethany of old. 

Was by Mary's hands anointed, 
When He said, ** While days endure 
You will always have the poor." 

Since the hour to Bethlehem, 
When His parents went together, 

And no dwelling sheltered them, 
Save a stable from the weather, 

There has been nor time nor spot 

That the poor were with us not. 

Agar, homeless in the East, 

Ruth, the gleaner in the meadows, 

Lazarus, at Dives' feast. 

Crouching in the outer shadows ; 

And the beggar at the gates. 

All are types time iterates. 

And whenever Want may plead. 




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In whatever form or fashion, 
They its voice w^ho fail to heed, 

Or deny it their compassion, 
(if that love are not possessed 
Which Christ made the Christian test. 

Give the poor their pittance then. 

Share with them our earthly treasures; 

Heaven will yield us back again 
All our gifts in ampler measures ; 

Even cups of water earn 

For their donors a return. 

From His mansion in the skies 
When Christ came to visit mortals, 

Like the poor, in humble guise. 

Did His footsteps seek their portals. 

Heed, then, how we say these nay, 

Lest we turn the Lord away. 

"Glimpses of the Brotherhood of Charity," go 
forth on your mission of love ! Go from the great 
Atlantic to the Pacific coast and make known the 
scenes you have portrayed. Tell all of the good- 
ness of God, whose loving kindness ever watches 
over us. Tell the story of the Brothers of Charity, 
who have chosen that beautiful mark of the dear 
Christ for their title — "God is Charity." 



132 



GLIMPSES OF THE 




CHAPTER VIII. 



The Novitiate — The Interior Life of the Brothers 
OF Charity. 

When we come to seek the source of the won- 
derful power which the Brothers possess over the 
hearts of those whom they instruct and care for, 
we shall find it in the excellent training they 
receive during the years they spend in the novi- 
tiate. They are taught there to be men of broad 
sympathies, and of such tender interest in their 
charges, that all may see in them friends and 
helpers ; and thus the orphan, the sick, and the 
afflicted respond to their interest in them with an 
answering love and trust. 

Oftentimes this grand and noble spirit of the 
Brothers of Charity is subjected to severe and 
trying tests. The heedless and outside world 




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BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 133 

takes little or no recognition of their work ; and 
it frequently occurs that those they have benefited 
most, offer nothing in return but the most bitter 
ingratitude. It requires no small amount of vir- 
tue to withstand such trials — yet these are the 
battles a Brother of this Congregation must arm 
himself to enter. 

These exterior works and sacrifices represent, 
however, only one aspect of the life of a Brother 
of Charity. We find united with these the inte- 
rior life which he leads in the Community. The 
world sees little or nothing of this life. 

His life is indeed one of hard labor. To the 
foolish and thoughtless world it may seem ^^ a 
stumbling block and a folly," but to us who be- 
lieve in the mighty power of prayer, it becomes 
a sublime life and worthy of our respect and 
admiration. For what is it we seek for in a life 
worthy of admiration? Is it not the love of God 
and self-sacrifice? 

He who lays down his life in a good cause is 
called a hero. His name is written in letters of 
gold on tablets of the most precious marble, and 



134 GLIMPSES OF THE 

people call him great. Who can visit an institu- 
tion conducted by the Brothers of Charity and 
witness their ceaseless toil from morning until 
night to alleviate human misery, without feeling 
that they are foremost in the ranks of the heroes 
of our age? What age ever needed them more? 
When were weak souls more in want of the brac- 
ing air of such examples ? 

But do not seek their history, their mission, or 
their work on tablets of marble or in letters of 
gold. You will look in vain. But ask the or- 
phan, the sick, the unfortunate, and oppressed, 
and in one voice they will tell you : " I was sick, 
and they visited me ; I was hungry, and they 
gave me to eat ; I was naked, and they clothed 
me. 

The man who enters the ranks of the Brothers 
of Charity must prepare himself for a conflict. 
The rules of the Congregation are such that none 
but he who truly denies himself and the world, 
for the Kingdom of Heaven's sake, can follow. 
They loom up before his mind day after day 
during his years of probation ; they are read in 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY I35 

the refectory during the meals of the Community ; 
they are commented upon by the Superior in his 
conferences, so that the novice, when he reaches 
the time of taking his final vows which will bind 
him forever to the Congregation, clearly and dis- 
tinctly understands the nature of the life he is 
about to undertake ; and in case he thinks the 
yoke too heavy or too hard to bear, he is free 
to go, and the best wishes and prayers of the 
Community follow him. If he determines to 
make his vows, he becomes a full member of 
the Congregation ; he gives up his will entirely 
to his Superiors. 

But are there no consolations in such a life? 
Yes, many. They are those spiritual consola- 
tions that the world never knows or experiences. 
In such a life the soul, by constant acts of self- 
denial, becomes strained of grossness, and seeks 
its peace and happiness in God alone. 

Idleness, to the Brother of Charity, is the ene- 
my of the soul. He, therefore, upon making his 
vows, consecrates himself to a life of labor. No 
matter what a Brother's previous station in the 



136 GLIMPSES OE THE 

world may have been, he must perform, accord- 
ing to his vow of obedience, the most menial 
services of the Community, if commanded by his 
Superior. In many of their convents the occu- 
pations of the Brothers are as various as that of 
a modern factory. One cannot help observing 
this, even in the House of The Angel Guardian, 
which is considered small in comparison to the 
other institutions under the direction of the Broth- 
ers. Among them none are exempt from work ; 
there is no place among them for the sluggard. 
When it is borne in mind that their institutions 
are more or less self-dependant with regard to 
labor, the necessity for much work becomes man- 
ifest. Thus there is scope for intellects of all 
degrees, and talents of w^ell-nigh every order. 
Daily life from year to year is an exact system 
of duties and hours. Their institutions, as a rule, 
are very large and penetrated by long corridors, 
which must be kept faultlessly clean. The kitch- 
en and sometimes three or four refectories are all 
in charge of a Brother, with a few assistants. 
There is a pharmacy and infirmary ; a tailor's shop 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 137 

where the worn garments are patched ; a shoe- 
maker's shop where the shoes are made and cob- 
bled ; and a printing office where periodicals, 
pamphlets, job work, etc., of all kinds are care- 
fully printed. 

Thus they labor day after day, blessing the 
opportunities they have of working hard, for they 
are taught during their 3'ears in the novitiate that 
labor is a blessed thing to the religious soul. It 
keeps the mind and body occupied, and shuts out 
worldly ideas. It is labor united with prayer that 
enables the soul to soar way beyond the gilded 
toys of this earth, finding no object worthy its 
capacities until it rests with God. The mind be^ 
comes associated with all that is elevated and 
pure. In such a life, free from the trappings of 
a foolish and deceitful world, the soul rises to its 
loftiest exercise, and the holy influence of all that 
is pure and good fills it with a joy that is unspeak- 
able and full of glory. 

The habit worn by the Brothers of Charity is 
simple but impressive. It consists of a long black 
tunic with a cincture around the waist, from which 



138 GLIMPSES OF THE 

hang the beads. Over this gracefully falls a 
long, black scapular, which almost reaches the 
ground. A small, black skull-cap completes the 
outfit. Their diet is simple, and the table-service 
is of the rudest kind. 

Strange, indeed, is the picture the life of a 
Brother of Charity presents to the nineteenth cen- 
tury. The agnostic may look upon it as folly, 
but to the eye of the Christian soul it presents a 
picture beautiful to look upon, because it speaks 
of the nothingness of the pleasures of this trans- 
itory life, — it speaks of a place in this vv^orld of 
sin v^here the soul comes to lay itself in simplicity 
before the Eternal as it w^ould upon a naked, 
solitary rock of the desert, and offer its life as 
a holocaust. 

To those w^ho have the happy privilege of living 
among such men, life becomes sweet. Days pass, 
and the world and its frivolities, which are every- 
where around, seem to recede to a dim remote- 
ness, and are gradually forgotten. You are in 
the world, and yet not of it. 

It is only when one, alive with sympathetic 



BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY I39 

interest, voluntarily enters into the history of the 
life of any one of these Brothers, who has passed 
years of service in the Master's vineyard, that he 
gets a glimpse of the steady fires of genuine 
charity that have burned all along — and then 
for a moment one thinks while such men exist 
the world is not so cruel after all — heart answers 
to heart, love becomes real, brotherhood becomes 
vital ; and the weary and deserted become more 
precious than the highest monarch. 

Living in any one of their convents one gets a 
pleasant infusion of actual experience with souls 
that are truly religious. He finds himself, for 
one thing, brought face to face with that life 
which had always existed in his dreams, and 
w^hich now becomes a reality. 

These are the men who hush the discordant 
conflict of misery by the sweet strains of charity. 
They have penetrated deep into the life of suffer- 
ing humanity, and filled with the zeal of their 
vocation, they have helped many a weary little 
one who has come to them footsore and bleeding 



140 GLIMPSES OF THE 

from the rough road of a cruel and heartless 
world. 



Abode of peace and home of virtue ! who can 
judge of the life beneath thy roof save he who 
has lived it ! Who can relate the undreamt of 
spiritual consolations that come even in this pres- 
ent life to those of thy household, save he who 
has experienced them? Time may erase from 
my mind the most cherished memories, but the 
heavenly consolations received within thy bosom 
shall never die. They will exist here like stars 
shining in the firmament of this dark life to cheer 
and brighten my path, foreshadowing the life that 
is to come in the mansions of the blessed. 




BROTHERHOOD OF CHARITY 



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APPENDIX. 



One of the recent intentions proposed by our 
Holy Father to the members of the Apostleship 
of Prayer, that pious organization which daily 
petitions the Throne of Grace for the relief of 
the pressing needs of the Church universal, was 
that they should particularly ask from Heaven the 
boon of more numerous vocations to the religious 
orders and societies, which, as Leo XIII. is well 
aware, are often hampered in the good works 
they seek to perform by the lack of co-laborers 
in their beneficent and noble undertakings. The 
words which the Divine Founder of Christianity, 
while He was here on earth, addressed to His fol- 
lowers when He told them that "the harvest was, 
indeed great, but the workmen were few in num- 
ber," are applicable to the various fields which the 



142 APPENDIX 

Church is endeavoring to cultivate to-day ; and 
there is not a single one of our religious orders, 
congregations, societies, brotherhoods, and sister- 
terhoods toiling in those fields, that would not be 
able to secure far greater success in its respective 
labors, could it command more co-operators in the 
work in which it is especially engaged. 

In the preceding chapters the author of this 
work has striven, and not wholly without success 
he trusts, to make known the exalted and benevo- 
lent character of the congregation to which these 
devoted Christian workers belong, and to give 
some idea of the nature of the labors which en- 
gross their days and their best endeavors. The 
incalculable amount of good which the Brothers 
of Charity have wrought, and are still doing, in 
the several fields of their labor, cannot fail to 
have impressed the reader ; neither can the fact 
have escaped attention that the results of their 
toils might readily have been attended with still 
greater benefits to their charges were the congre- 
gation able to command the services of a more 
numerous membership at their different houses. 



APPENDIX 143 

No persons can be more convinced of the truth 
of this assertion than are the good Brothers them- 
selves, and, consequently, one of their fondest 
desires, and one for which they pray most fer- 
vently and frequently, is that the Master vv^hom 
they seek to serve will send more laborers into 
the vineyards which are committed to their care ; 
in other words, that vocations to become Brothers 
of Charity may be more numerously given to 
Catholic young men. 

If, therefore, this book comes into the hands of 
any young man who, after reading its story of the 
Brothers of Charity and their works, is sensible 
of a desire within him of joining that noble band 
of Christian toilers and participating in their be- 
nevolent and noble labors, let him not disregard 
what may be the voice of Heaven calling upon 
him as Christ called upon His disciples to follow 
Him. Let him look upon himself as an especially 
honored person, since he is called, as it were, 
to do the very work which Christ Himself loved 
to perform, and to labor for the poor and needy 
of that class of whom He said : " Suffer little 



144 APPENDIX 

children to come unto Me, and forbid them not, 
for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven." 

The Catholic youth, then, who is conscious of 
a desire to share in the labors and rewards of the 
life of a Brother of Charity, should hasten to 
consult with some member of the Congregation as 
to the best way of satisfying that desire. Appli- 
cation to any of the Houses of the Brotherhood 
will furnish him with that enlightenment, and if 
he has a vocation to join the Congregation, his 
coming wdll be hailed with welcome, for none are 
more desirous than the good Brothers themselves 
of seeing their ranks increased, so that they may 
be able to carry out more completely the grand 
design of their noble congregation. 




HOUSE OF THE HNGEL GURRDIRN, 

- - - CONDUCTED BY THE - - - 

BROTHERS * OP * CHKRITY. 



**^^^^^P"^^^^^^N^^^^^^^ 



THIS is an Institution where Orphan, Homeless, and Way- 
ward boys receive shelter, food, and clothing, are 
instructed in the principles of our Holj* Faith, and after- 
wards provided with suitable homes in good Catholic families, 
or taught some useful trade whereby they may earn an honest 
livelihood after leaving the Institution. The House, having no 
regular income, depends almost entirely upon the charitable 
public for support. Its main resource is the 

Society of the Angel Guardian. 

Established in 1854 ^Y the Rev. George F. Haskins, under 
the Presidency of the Most Rev. John J. Williams, Archbishop 
of Boston, it has received the approval of Pope Pius IX. and 
also of Pope Leo XIII., who is a life member. Its object is to 
provide for poor, orphan, or abandoned children. All subscrip- 
tions and donations are applied exclusively to this work. The 
Society is also an association of prayer, each member being 
expected to recite each day the prayers printed on his card, and 
so obtain the indulgences attached thereto. 

Special Advantages of the Society. 

MASSES. — A Daily Mass for all members; a Weekly 
Mass for collectors and life members ; a Weekly Mass in peti- 
tion for the special favors requested through the prayers of the 
Society; Two Hundred Annual Masses for deceased mem- 
bers; a Special Mass of REquiEM for each member at death, 
due notice of the same being given to the Treasurer. 

INDULGENCES.— Granted by Pope Pius IX. : A Plenary 
Indulgence on the day of admission ; a Plenary Indulgence each 
year, Oct. 2, Feast of the Angel Guardian; a Plenary Indul- 
gence at the hour of death ; an Indulgence of three hundred 
days as often as members shall recite the Pater, Ave, and Gloria 



Patri, in honor of the Angel Guardian. Granted by Pope Leo 
XIII. : A Plenary Indulgence each year, Dec. 8, Feast of the 
Immaculate Conception, to Collectors of the Society; an Indul- 
gence of fifty days, once a day, to all within the Archdiocese of 
Boston who devoutly recite the Prayers on membership card ; 
an Indulgence of one hundred days, likewise once a day, to all 
who devoutly recite said Prayers and perform some good work 
for the Poor or our Orphans ; a Plenary Indulgence once a 
year, a day at their choice, to all who, both by the dailj' recital 
of said prayers and by an annual performance of some good 
work, shall have aided in maintaining and educating, in a Cath- 
olic manner, the Poor and Orphans, provided, however, that 
they receive worthily the sacraments of Penance and Holy 
Eucharist, visit the Parochial Church, and there pray tor the 
intentions of His Holiness. 

PRAYERS.— The children and the Brothers, generally 
numbering over three hundred souls, make special petitions to 
the Throne of Mercy twice daily, in behalf of their benefactors. 

Members and Collectors. 

The title of Collector is given to all who receive and for- 
ward subscriptions for the Society. *' Life-Members" share in 
all the benefits of the Society after death, so long as their souls 
need prayer. Friends and deceased persons may be enrolled as 
members, by sending their names with the subscription fee. 

Subscriptions. 

A yearly Membership Card will be transmitted for self or 
friends, living or deceased, on receipt of Twenty-Five Cents. 

A Life-membership Card will be transmitted on receipt of 
Ten Dollars. Life-membership Cards will also be given to 
any person collecting and forwarding ten dollars with subscri- 
bers' name. 

Premiums. — Each time collectors or other persons forward 
ten dollars in one or more payments within the space of a year, 
they may have their choice of the following premiums: — A 
Gilt Prayer Book; the '* Pictorial Lives of the Saints," richly 
gilt and a most beautiful book; ** Christ and His Church," a 
beautiful, richly gilt edition, prepared expressly for us; a Cath- 



olic Book or Chromo, as they may select, or two gold crosses. 
For five dollars, one gold cross. 

All members and friends of the Orphans are entreated to 
earnestly endeavor to extend the Society by distributing circu- 
lars among their friends and neighbors, pointing out to them 
the increased Spiritual Advantages thereof, remembering that 
every little helps, and that whatever they do will be amply 
rewarded by Him who has promised that **Even a cup of cold 
water given in My Name has its reward." 



THE ORPHAN'S FRIEND. 

For the Society of the Anj^el Guardian. 



This is a Quarterly Family Paper, Published with the Appro- 
bation of the 

MOST REVEREND JOHN J. WILLIAMS, 

Archbishop of Boston, 

For the exclusive benefit of the orphans and destitute or aband- 
oned children in the House of the Angel Guardian. In the 
seventh year of its existence, it is now a resource only second 
in importance to the Society of the Angel Guardian. 
Without it the House could but very inadequately meet its 
demands. A constant and unremitting effort has been made 
to render it a paper that can be read with benefit in Catholic 
homes. Its contents are almost wholly original, the contribu- 
ors including some of our best Catholic writers. T/ie Orphan's 
Friend Stories, contributed by subscribers or members of the 
Society in competition for prizes, a feature recently adopted, 
will be found most interesting. It is printed in our Industrial 
School by the bojs of the House. 

Subscribers, at the same time that they are procuring a first- 
rate paper for home reading, have also the satisfaction of 
knowing that their subscriptions aid the noble charity for which 



the House was founded, and entitle them to all the privileges of 
membership in the Society of the Angel Guardian. 

The annual subscription is only 25 cents. With the receipt 
therefor a yearly card of membership in the Society is also sent 
when requested. 

All persons sending a club of forty subscribers at above 
rates, are registered Life-members of the Society, and receive 
in addition a desirable premium. 

Collectors helping to extend the circulation of The Orphan's 
Friend can have the paper sent direct by mail to club subscri- 
bers as well as to individual subscribers. 

The Orphan s Friend is also published in the French lan- 
guage. Any of our readers desiring the French copy will 
please apply to the House of the Angel Guardian. 

When writing, name Town, County, and State. Subscrip- 
tions should be sent by Post-office or Registered Letter to insure 
safe arrival. Address, 

BROTHER JUDE, Treasurer, 

85 Vernon Street, Boston, Mass. 



he ©pphan'g Soaqaet, 

T. A. DWYER, A. B., Editor. 

iiiirmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiMiii 

A cnonnino, losiruciive, and EnieriQinino CQinoiic story Paper, 

PUBLISHED BY THE 

BROTHERS OF CHHRITY, 

House of the Angel Guardian, 85 Vernon Street, Boston, Mass. 



IIIIIIIUIIIIIIIIIllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 



The public is no doubt alreadv acquainted with our Catho- 
lic publication, titled The Orphan's BouquET. But, in order 
to advance its circulation, we ask you to kindly give this matter 
your attention ; and after learning the object of the journal, we 
earnestly ask your co-operation in its advancement. 

The Orphan's Bouquet was established by Brother Jude, 
Superior of the House of the Angel Guardian, with the view of 



giving the boys of the Institution an opportunity to learn the 
printing trade. God has blessed the work. During the past 
year the success of the journal has been marvellous. But we 
feel that were its merits, as a Catholic story paper, more widely 
known, the success would be much greater, and the proceeds 
increased, in a way, to help the good Brothers advance their 
great work in the cause of orphanage. 

Our children and young people must read something; and 
if not supplied with good wholesome reading, they will patron- 
ize the trashy novels and journals to be had at all our book- 
stalls. Unless something is done to prevent the reading of this 
vile literature by our young people, it will go on increasing in 
volume and repulsiveness until it is violently done away with 
by some decree of the Almighty, enforced in an effectual man- 
ner by bold and fearless reformers. 

There can be no healthy or reliable literature which has not 
for its object to elevate and ennoble the mind of youth, and 
lead all who read it to become good Christians and upright 
citizens. We shall do the utmost in our power to bring about 
this good result. 

This being the well understood position which we sincerely 
have taken, determined to adhere to it in the face of all dis- 
couragements, it remains with the clergy and people whether 
or not our journal will be the great success we hope it to be. 
We need a large financial backing to enable us to do pleasantly 
the great and good work we are ambitious to do ; namely, the 
planting of virtue and goodness in all hearts, the inspiring of 
a love for our parochial schools, and soliciting the interest of 
all in their advancement. We intend to do this in the spirit 
of peacefulness and confidence, rather than in those ways which 
lead only to discord, wretchedness and ruin. 

Send us your name and address, or the name and address of 
any friend whom you wish to receive a specimen copy of The 
Orphan's BouquET. 

RATES. — Single copies, 5 cents; subscription for one year, 
$1.25. Special terms to Pastors, Teachers, Agents, School 
Clubs, and Societies. 



OPINIONS OF NOTABLE WRITERS 



S.-^NWXWWVW^NX'VW 



From Bro. Azarias. 

Author of **The Philosophy of English Literature,*' etc. 

De Salle Institute, March 3, 1892. 
Dear Bro. Jude, — After perusing several copies of The 
Orphan's Bouquet, I must say I found pleasure and instruc- 
tion in them. The little journal is well edited and neatly gotten 
up. It is a credit to the House of the Angel Guardian. I can 
only say complimentary things of it, and I hope it is meeting 
with the success it deserves. 

Believe me, very sincerely yours, Bro. Azarias. 

From the Most Rev. W. H. Elder, D. D. 

Brother Jude. Cincinnati, Ohio, March 9, 1892. 

Esteemed Brother, — His Grace, Archbishop Elder, would 
have me express his good wishes for you and all your house, 
and as a token of the interest he feels in the good work you are 
doing, he has instructed me to send his subscription for the 
coming year. I am, with respectful regard. 

Your obedient servant. Rev. Michael Ahern. 

From Rt. Rev. D, M, Bradley, D. I>. 

Manchester, N. H., March 9, 1892, 
Rev. and Dear Bro. Jude, — I am very willing to allow 
my name to be added to the list of those who have written 
words of approval of your publication — The Orphan's Bou- 
quet. I have read copies of it from time to time and am 
pleased to say that T have always regarded it as a very com- 
mendable Catholic family journal. Yours respectfully, 

^ Denis M. Bradley, Bishop of Manchester. 

From Very Rev. Wm. Byrne, I>. D., V. G. 

St. Joseph's Church, Boston, March 11, 1892. 
Editor Orphan's Bouquet, — I have examined several 
numbers of The Orphan's Bouquet, and think well of it. It 
is interesting and instructive. The mechanical work is a credit 
to your printing office. The boys engaged in it will know at 
least one trade well. Yours truly, William Byrne, V. G. 

From Rev. Charles W. Currier. 

Author of **The Carmelites in America." 

Waldorf, March 4, 1892. 
Thos. a. Dwyer, EsQ;, Boston. 

Dear Sir, — I received with great pleasure the copies of The 
Orphan's Bouquet you kindly forwarded to me. There are 



especially two features in the bright periodical which have im-^ 
pressed me — its originality and its spirit of enterprise. Most 
of your articles are written for The Orphan's BouquEX, and 
you bravely solicit agents all over the country to advance the 
worthy periodical. It is certainly the way to success. You 
have a notice to your advertisers which reads thus : '* We pro- 
pose that the advertising columns of The Orphan's Bouquet 
shall be as pure and wholesome as its reading columns." 
Bravo ! This ought to be copied by every Catholic paper in 
the country. Wishing you every possible success, 

I remain, yours, Charles W. Currier. 

From Rev. J. Nilan, D. D. 

Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 
Editor of The Orphan's Bouquet. 

Dear Sir, — Your tasteful publication is always a welcome 
visitor. Its utility is undoubted, for it contains many valuable 
moral as well as scientific articles. Its decent tone, free from 
anything that can give offence to our Christian brethren out- 
side the fold, ought to be adopted by all periodicals bearing 
the holy name of Catholic. It has also fallen creditably in line 
with the other reputable publications that have either excluded 
or removed from their advertising columns the liquor business, 
so reprobated by the Council of Baltimore. Your city is singu- 
larly favored in having such eminent Catholic writers and 
scholars, who bring credit to the Church. May God's law of 
progress guide you onwards. Yours, etc., J. Nilan. 

From W. I>. Kelly. 

Dorchester, March lo, 1892. 
Dear Mr. Dwyer,— i-I gladly certify to the literary excel- 
lence and high merits of The Orphan's Bouquet, which, I 
think, is filling a field hitherto unoccupied by Catholic journal- 
ism hereabouts, and the good of whose influence is incalculable. 

W. D. Kelly. 

From Bishop Brooks. 

233 Clarendon St., Boston, Oct. 12, 189a. 
My Dear Mr. Dwyer, — You have infused into The Bou- 
quET a spirit that must do good. Never shall I cease to thank 
you for your goodness in sending n.e a copy each week. Allow 
me to express my cordial sympathy with the great work The 
Bouquet is destined to do, and my thankfulness for the success 
which is attending it. I am. 

Yours most sincerely, Phillips Brooks. 



From Rev. Francis J. Finn, S- J. 

Author of "Tom Playfair'* and "Percy Wynn." 

T. A. DwYER, Woodstock College. 

Dear Sir, — The improvement you are making each week in 
The Orphan's BouquET is amazing. With best wishes for 
jour success, I remain, Yours in Christ, 

Francis J. Finn, S. J. 

From Georg-e Parsons Lathrop. 

New London, April 14, 1893. 
My Dear Mr. Dwyer, — The BouquEX will certainly do a 
great deal of good in the field of literature. I am glad to see 
so many eminent Catholic writers among its contributors. 

Very sincerely yours, George Parsons Lathrop. 

From Rev- A. P. Doyle, C. S- P. 

Editor of the Catholic World. 

New York, Feb. 28, 1S93. 
My Dear Mr. Dwyer, — Allow me to congratulate you on 
the energy and push yo\x have intused into The Orphan's 
Bouquet, and the high standard you have achieved. 

Sincerely yours, A. P. Doyle. 



OPINIONS OF THE PRESS 



**The Orphan's Bouquet, which is printed and published 
by the House of the Angel Guardian, at 85 Vernon Street, is an 
illustrated weekly for young readers which is increasing rapidly 
in influence and circulation. Its editor, Mr. T. A. Dwyer, is a 
progressive and enterprising journalist, who has improved the 
paper greatly since it came under his supervision. The Bou- 
quet has recently been enlarged, and is full of sweetness and 
light." — Bostoti Saturday Evening Gazette. 

*'The Orphan's BouquET, which is published at the House 
of the Angel Guardian, has been increased to sixteen pages. 
This is a great mark of appreciation. We congratulate our 
young contemporary on its success." — Boston Pilots 

*'The Orphan's Bouquet, a weekly family paper, first 
issued by the House of the Angel Guardian, Jan. i, 1891, has 
been quietly making its way into favor. Neat and modest in 
appearance, its contents are of unusual merit. Well written 
original stories constitute the greater part of its make-up. But 
able articles on eminent topics are frequently given." — Boston 
Daily Globe. 

**The new frontispiece makes a decided improvement in the 
appearance of The Orphan's Bouquet. Although only in its 
second year, it has already won an enviable place in the list of 
weekly Catholic story papers by the excellence of its stories and 
illustrations. The tone of the reading matter, which, by the 
way, is originally written for this paper, is above the ordinary. 
The Orphan's Bouquet is printed and published in Boston, 
at the House of the Angel Guardian, an institution for home- 
less or destitute boys, conducted by the Brothers of Christian 
Charity, and is sold at $1.25 a year." — Annals of Our Lady of 
the Sacred Heart. 

**Oneof the brightest and purest periodicals that comes to 
our table is The Orphan's Bouquet. It is really a charming 
publication, and ought to be in every Catholic household." — 
Catholic Sentinel^ Chippewa JFalls, Wis. 

*'The Orphan's Bouquet, published by the House of the 
Angel Guardian, Boston, Mass., is on our table. It is superbly 
illustrated, and its typographical appearance is equal to the 
best. The matter excellent, and being principally original 
throughout, it is most creditable to the publishers, and should 
have a large circulation on its intrinsic merits as well as for 
the noble work it is aiding and doing. Subscription price 
$1.25 per year." — Kansas Catholic. 



